Fated Circle: Four Sacred Treasures of Earth
by Yumemi
Summary: It's set in a different world and dimension. Sakura is only but a mere slave until something changes her life, a change that traps her into a web of adventure. please read and reveiw finished
1. Byakko: Sacred Sword of the White Tiger ...

Fated Circle: Four Sacred Treasures of Earth  
=Rhys Icewind=  
  
n/a: I do not own and will never own Card Captor Sakura (though I whish I did)  
it is owned by CLAMP. This author is merely borrowing so please don't sue me!!!^_^;  
  
  
~Part 1   
Byakko: The Sacred Sword of the White Tiger  
Chapter 1  
  
  
A new dawn.  
  
Another morning.  
  
Another day in darkness.  
  
I don't know how much of this I can stand any longer. Its just about the same  
thing day in, day out. I hope something comes up today.  
  
"hey you! what are you doing still dozing off?! get up!" *WHACK!* the guards  
outside said as he cracked his whip.  
  
I'm still a slave girl, though working for the Dark Lord Orochi now. I used to  
work for Princess Chikyuu during the Years of Peace, before the dark Lord appeared  
and I can tell you that that life is still better than what I live now. As a  
personal maid of the princess, I called her in a different name: Chiharu.  
  
Chiharu was the name of my best friend who died in the torture chambers. It still  
hurts to remember that.   
  
"slave girl! keep moving!" *whack*  
  
I immediately waked out of my cell. I knew that the next crack of the whip would  
be set on my back. Though I work in the mines, I can still call myself lucky. Some  
of the other slave girls were used for......entertaining..the dark lord.  
  
I wonder when would all of this end?  
  
"hey, Sakura!" a voice beside me said. It was Touya, an old friend. He works  
at the mines too. He was tall and had a short, messy black hair and brown eyes.  
he was 25, a proud fighter before and a lieutenant at the king's court. During  
those days, he acted like a brother to me.  
  
OH YEAH! I am 16 anyways, I have long, brown hair(which is kept pony-tailed) and  
green eyes. My name is Sakura. I don't know my full name, since I grew up without  
any parents. I might forget to introduce myself later on.  
  
"what's up?" I asked.  
  
"we're planning and escape again" he murmured.  
  
I looked at him strangely. "what?" I gasped, "not another one?"  
  
"what's wrong?" he asked again.  
  
"I don't know..." I looked at my grimy hands. "It's just that this 'planning the  
escape thing' is really faliure after faliure..."  
  
Touya got my hands, though both of ours were shackled. "Sakura, I want us to be  
free, ....all of us."   
  
I looked at him and saw the burning passion in his eyes. "Good Luck then," I  
said.  
  
"Slave girl! where are you going??" the guard behind us said.   
  
I pulled my hand off Touya's and looked back. "To the mines..."  
  
"I knew you were still dozing off!" *WHACK*   
  
I almost fell from the intense pain. It wasn't the first time though.  
  
"HEY!" Touya suddenly commented.  
  
*WHACK* the whip cracked on his back. It was like the guard was whipping me as  
well. "I'll go then..."  
  
"but!..." Touya blurted out. I knew what was on his mind... entertainment of  
the flesh.  
  
I just looked at him with a look that told him never to loose hope. I might  
just escape this fate before me.  
  
  
  
We were all lined up before him, his ugliness Dark Lord Orochi. How I hated him.  
He, who put us all in this predicament. But though I was in anger, I felt the  
ligh-heartedness of the poeple around me. It was as if they were liking what was  
about to happen.  
  
"just think of it as you only was of salvation from the mines." I heard someone  
murmrur behind me.  
  
"hmph! I'd rather have the mines than this!" someone whispered back.  
  
I was about to add something when the whip cracked again and all was scilenced.  
  
"ladies, you are here today to free yourselves from this slavery. My son seems  
to be hard-up at choosing his bride to be.... so, I requested for the presence  
of the former ladies of this court... Now, let me present you, my son...  
SYAORAN!" The Dark Lord said.  
  
I heard murmurs from behind me, saying that his son is ugly and just like his  
father. I thought of the same thing.... but we were all silenced. Not because  
of the whip, but because of his looks. He was so different form his pimply and  
fat father. He was tall, had a well-built body, fair complexion, brown hair  
and ..... beautiful amber eyes. He was like heaven-sent.... which made me wonder  
if he was really Orochi's son.  
  
As soon as he stepped to look at us, many of the women there fixed themselves  
to face his majesty. I kept my hands grimy and my face covered with my dirty  
hair so that he won't be able to see me. High people were high people. And  
he was the son of a dark lord. He will never touch me in my dirt.  
  
A son will be like his father.  
  
"rise your head." I heard his voice, it was sweet and clear. "I said rise!"  
  
I knew he was adressing me, but I kept my head low. Suddenly, I felt a warm  
hand gently touch my chin and rise my head. I couln't belive it! HE actually  
touched me! his hands were so soft! He even pushed away the dirty strands  
of hair from my face with his other hand.   
  
The level to which he rose my face gave me no option but to stare deeply into  
his eyes. And for a moment, I saw a flicker of happines... not the twisted  
happiness his father had, but pure, joyous happiness.  
  
It was unbeliveable.  
  
"what's your name?" he asked, releasing my face from his hands.  
  
"Sakura, my prince."  
  
Suddenly, before anyone could even see what he did, he pointed the tip of the  
blade of the dagger at my heart. Looking at him, it was as if his whole personality  
change from goodly to evil.  
  
"If you were given a choice right here, right now, would you rather die or  
live?" he said, in a voice that was utterly different from the first one he  
used to command me.  
  
Standing straight, and staring defiantly into his amber eyes, I answered him,  
"I'd rather live." My answer surprised me as well as the people around me. I  
wanted to say die but somehow, my mind wouldn't register that.  
  
"really?" he said in a surprised tone. "I see..." he then turned around and  
suddenly, he threw the dagger my way.  
  
I saw the dagger as in quickly inched nearer to me. Too shocked to react, I  
just stood there, frozen. My heart raced in my chest. It felt like it was going  
to explode any moment. Then I felt it, I even heard it, I felt the dagger  
through my heart. I heard the people's screams. Looking at myself, I saw  
blood starting to stain my already dirty clothes.  
  
My legs felt weak.  
  
I was going to die.  
  
I dropped to the floor on all fours and held my chest. Looking at my right  
hand, it was all bloody red.  
  
I stared at him hard and cold.  
  
It was a shock!  
  
Though he was the one who did this to me, it was in his eyes that I saw how he  
hated what he just did - how he wanted to save me from certain death.  
  
Why?  
  
Then everything was black.  
  
There was no sound.  
  
I felt nothing.  
  
...  
  
  
END 


	2. Chapter 2

Fated Circle: Four Sacred Treasures of Earth  
  
  
n/a: I do not own and will never own Card Captor Sakura (though I whish I did)  
it is owned by CLAMP. This author is merely borrowing so please don't sue me!!!^_^;  
  
  
~Part 1   
Byakko: The Sacred Sword of the White Tiger  
Chapter 2  
  
  
I felt warm and comfortable.  
  
It felt like I slept on a cloud.  
  
Opening my eyes, the first thing I saw shocked me.  
  
Angels.  
  
"So this is Heaven..." I told myself. Though I found it odd that the angels  
who were playing the lyre in front of me did not move so gracefully, instead,  
they were frozen - like statues.  
  
"oh? but you are not dead yet." a woman's voice said from beside me.  
  
Looking to my left, a saw a lady, about the same age as me, standing there.  
She had a long black hair wich was braided and her brown eyes stared at me  
with unmasked hate. She was wearing a simple red dress with golden linings  
at the ends. That's when I realized that what I saw were just paintings.  
  
"where am I?"  
  
"why, you're in your bedchamber!" she said. It was like telling me how  
stupid I was not to know.  
  
"MY bedchamber? but I'm only a slave!" I told her, immediately jumping out  
of the soft bed. I felt the carpeted floors upon my feet.  
  
"how I wish." she said openly, "but you WERE... now, you are the prince's  
fiance and you two are engaged and to be married four days from now." she  
explained, hurt in her voice was evident when she said the things about  
marriage.  
  
I was shocked.  
  
engaged?  
  
"but how?" I said, voicing my thoughts.  
  
She smirked at me and turned her back. "REALLY! the prince made you feel and  
see only an illusion of a knife stabbing your heart. After that, all others  
were dismissed."  
  
Recalling my thoughts, I remembered how it felt to die.  
  
So that was only a illusion...  
  
I was pulled away from my thoughts when I heard the footsteps of the lady,  
walking towards the door.  
  
"wait!" I said, standing up, "what's your name?"  
  
Not even looking at me, she said, "Meiling."  
  
"I'm pleased to meet you. I'm Sakura." I said, smiling though I knew she wasn't  
looking.  
  
She just ignored me and before she turned the knob, she said, "please take  
care of Syaoran..." there was sadness in her voice.  
  
As she left, my heat was filled with sadness.  
  
She loved him.  
  
I guess he didn't love her back... what about me? what's to happen to me?  
  
  
  
  
After two days, I still wasn't used to the life of being the master. Everything  
was done for me. They dressed me, got me food or drink and anything I wanted.  
The maids even bathed me. The conditions I still haven't got used to.  
  
The place I haven't got used to either. This was big, roomy and filled with  
exotic treasures from different lands. The walls were extravagantly decorated  
while the celings, which were very high, had elaborate and big chandeliers   
hanging from them. There were many rooms and the bathroom was so spacious.   
  
It was a very different life from the one I used to have.  
  
Even from the life when I served princess Chiharu. Her castle was simple, yet  
elegant but this one, though the same castle, was decorated beyond description.  
  
Walking down one of the castle's corridor, my thoughts ran though all these  
things when a certain painting caught my attention. It was big and the last  
time I remembered, princess Chiharu's picture hung here. Now, it was a picture  
....a picture of Prince Syaoran.  
  
Where was he?  
  
During the past few days of my stay, I haven't seen him nor the dark lord,   
whom I'm quite glad I didn't see. I was his bride-to-be and yet he didn't  
bother doing the things other men used to do. Like offer expensive gifts or  
giving boquets of flowers in order to please the one they adore.  
  
But, did he really like me?.....or even love me?  
  
Just as I was getting deeper into my thoughts when I noticed an open balcony.  
Deciding to go out to breathe the fresh air, I did as I thought.  
  
The night sky was lovely and filled with stars. The air was crisp and cool.  
  
"beautiful night, isn't it?" someone said from behind me.  
  
The prince!  
  
I was speechless at his unexpected assault. Mustering all the courage in me,  
I answered, "y-yes...b-beautiful..."  
  
"you shouldn't be nervous," he said, his amber eyes gazing deep into mine,  
"you're my bride to be."  
  
"bride?" I said, and suddenly, I remembered how I was 'chosen' "you call  
throwing a knife at me to be the proper way to choose a wife?!? you  
should win the love of a lady and let the lady decide if she wants you  
or not!" I said, my anger getting the best of me.  
  
He chuckled and looked at me. "we have different ways of doing things...  
I'm sooo sorry if it wasn't what you had expected." he said in an  
exaggerated tone.  
  
I felt my face burn with anger and I looked defiantly into his eyes.  
  
He smiled. "you look so beautiful when you're angry."  
  
My temper suddenly froze and my vanity got the best of me. I blushed  
a little bit then, realizing what he just did, flared up again. "Then  
maybe I should stay that way!!" I shouted at him, stopming away from  
him.  
  
As I was entering the castle again, I felt his gentle yet vice-like grip  
upon my wrist. "you better not roam around the castle so much. If  
father sees you, we won't know what will happen next."  
  
I looked at him with the utmost surprise at his warning. Looking deep  
into his eyes, I saw genuine concern for my safety. It surprised me,  
really. In his eyes, emotions were clearly seen. His beautiful amber  
eyes...  
  
"sakura?" he suddenly said.  
  
Instinctively, I looked down and bowed. "I'm sorry, my prince..." I  
said, still bowed with my eyes closed.  
  
"please open your eyes." he said.  
  
I did just that but what I saw made me stand erect. He was infront  
of me, kneeling!..........a prince kneeling to me!  
  
"you're not a slave now" he said, his hands now holding mine, "you  
are my fiance. Though we may not be married as of yet, you are already  
a princess. Because of that, you don't have to bow to me or even call  
me like that. Call me by my name..." he then stood up and walked  
closer to me, his eyes looking deep into mine as if he was digging  
though my whole personality. "do you understand?"  
  
"y-yes...my- i mean - Syaoran..." I nervously said.  
  
He let me go and walked towards the hall again, but he stopped. "you  
should get used to be being so close to you too..." he finally said,  
then left.  
  
  
  
The wedding was a very simple one. It was held in the afternoon and there  
were no other people in the chamber we were in except for me, Syaoran, Lord  
Orochi and the priest. I wore a simple blue gown with long, and big, sleeves.  
Syaoran wore a white shirt with loose seeves, loose pants, black boots which  
reached up to his knees and a deep blue tunic which was held by a black belt,  
where a long sword hung.  
  
After the wedding, we ate and I discovered that the slaves were being  
fed really good food today because of the said occation. I then remembered  
Touya and the others.  
  
I missed them.  
  
"Sakura, how do you feel now that you're a royalty?" the Lord Orochi  
suddenly asked me.  
  
how do I feel?  
  
HOW DO I feel?  
  
"I feel extrodinary!" I lied. In truth, I felt no difference from before.  
I WAS still a slave... to the Lord, though now, I can voice my thoughts.  
  
"FOOL!" he suddenly shouted, his hands slapping the table. I shrunk in  
my seat because of fear. "DO NOT LIE TO ME!!!"  
  
"FATHER!!" another voice shouted. It was Syaoran. He suddenly pulled me  
from my chair and placed me behind him. He faced his father, sword drawn.  
I saw fear etched for a moment on the dark lord's face. Fear. It was so  
surprising to see that the dark lord himself was afraid of his son. "DO  
NOT, EVER, DO THAT AGAIN!" with that, we left the dining room.  
  
Our walked slowed as we walked farther away from the said room. Then we  
abruptly stopped. I looked at him and he was breathing heavily.  
  
"are you alright?" I asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.  
  
His grip on my right wrist suddenly tightened and it became painful.  
He faced me and fear rooted me in place. His eyes were glowing white and  
anger showed in his face. Suddenly, his sword was upon my neck.  
  
"S-syaoran! wh-what are y-you doing?!?" I shouted, trying vainly to  
remove my hand from his grip.  
  
He just stared at me and chills came running through my spine. "yOu.."  
he started to say in the same voice as when he hit me with the dagger.  
  
The sword closed in on my neck, creating a small wound. I felt my blood  
trickle down my neck. And suddenly, I felt as if I had just been hit  
by lightning. My legs faltered and my vision blurred.  
  
"Sakura!" I heard his voice, his normal voice, shout at me. The pain  
on my wrist lessened and I heard the clatter of metal as it hit the  
marble floor.  
  
"w...why?" I asked him.  
  
My vision blacked out again.  
  
...  
  
  
END 


	3. Chapter 3

Fated Circle: Four Sacred Treasures of Earth  
  
  
n/a: I do not own and will never own Card Captor Sakura (though I whish I did)  
it is owned by CLAMP. This author is merely borrowing so please don't sue me!!!^_^;  
  
  
~Part 1   
Byakko: The Sacred Sword of the White Tiger  
Chapter 3  
  
  
A was in beautiful garden. An array of dazzling colors was right there before me.  
It was warm, bright and sunny. It was magical, mystical and wonderful at the same  
time. In short, it was breathtaking.  
  
Suddenly, my sixth sense told me of an unseen danger. I almost laughed at the  
thought, it was all too impossible, in a place like this. But then, everything   
went black. Day seemed to turn into night in a blink of an eye. Then I felt it,  
its breath on the skin of my neck. Even without turning to look at it, I knew   
that is was evil. Dark, blackness that I would regret to look at. Suddenly, I   
felt its hands gripping my wrist, melting my skin.  
  
I woke up with a start.  
  
I was sweating and gasping for air.  
  
It was all too real for me.  
  
It was dark in the room where I was, so I guessed that it was still early morning.  
  
Then it came again, that sixth sense of danger. I almost pinched myself in order  
to wake myself up. But then, I looked behind me and what I saw was all too horrible.  
It was huge and black and red, cat-like eyes stared from its misshapen face. It was  
a monster, visibly larger than I was, with a body of a wolf with a face of a woman  
and cat mixed as one.  
  
Fear held me in place, freezing me on the spot.  
  
I wanted to scream, but I could not. My voice stuck behind a knot in my throat.  
Its cat-like stare held my eyes in place, paralyzing me. It moved toward me, a  
clawed paw rising, intending to slash me to my death.  
  
It came, me unable to move, silently like a shadow in the night. I was helpless.  
My mind screamed in fear. It seemed like it fed from my fear because I felt like  
I was being sucked away, all my fears, leaving me empty and cold. Now it was over  
me, just above me, its claws glistening in the darkness - going down steadily,   
closing the gap between the blade and my heart....  
  
Suddenly, a bright light shot out from somewhere in the darkness. I shielded my  
eyes as they squinted from the sudden appearence of the bright beam. After a moment,  
it became dark again, and I opened my eyes wide to see that the beast was gone;  
dark ashes were on the bed, remnants of what I guessed was the monster . Then I  
noticed a figure in the doorway...  
  
Syaoran.  
  
His eyes were glowing white, just like before, his sword in his hand; pointing  
towards me. I was scared, afraid that he might hurt me again. I felt my neck and  
a small bandage was there, covering the old wound that I got from his sword. I  
looked away, closing my eyes tightly and clenching my fist; holding the blanket  
tightly.  
  
Then I felt a hand touching my arm. I gasped suddenly an looked at him, knowing  
that it was he who touched me. But he was calm and composed, his eyes back to the  
way it was, worry etched on his face. His sword was gone, though he didn't carry  
a scabbard.  
  
"are you ok Sakura?" he asked in a gentle tone as he sat beside me.  
  
I nodded and, forgetting everything unsure about him, buried myself on his chest;  
crying openly all my fears out.  
  
"it's okay now.." he said, gently stroking my hair, "..it's all gone.."  
  
I looked up at him and wiped the tears from my face. "what was it?" I asked.  
  
"one of my father's minions" he answered bitterly, "...though I don't know why or  
who sent it." he paused for a while and looked at me, then seemed to remember  
something. "are okay really?" he asked again.  
  
I nodded and smiled, knowing that he was talking about the wound on my neck, it  
seemed to relive him because she smiled - the first sincere and caring one I saw  
him made.  
  
"we should sleep together now," he said, standing up, "come, Sakura."  
  
For the first time, I remembered that we were already married. I hesitated and  
blushed at the thought, knowing that we would be sleeping on the same bed. And...  
  
...  
  
"Sakura?" his voice startled me.  
  
"...ok" I said, rising from my bed.  
  
And so, we walked towards the door with me holding tightly on his arm. This was  
a scary place and he was the only one who can offer me protection. But that ment  
giving my trust to him.... and as to what I've seen so far, he still wasn't worthy  
of it.  
  
"here we are." he said, pulling me from my thoughts. The door was simple and I  
recognized it at once. This room once belonged to....  
  
"princess Chikyuu..."  
  
"yes, this room once belonged to her.... until..." he trailed off, almost hurt.  
"why don't we go inside and have some rest?"  
  
I nodded and he opened the door.  
  
Quite the opposite from the other rooms in the palace, the room was simple and  
wasn't overly decorated with gold trinkets and other things. The four-poster bed  
was big enough to accomodate the two of us as it sat in the middle of the left  
wall. To the right wall was a huge bookcase filled with books and scrolls. Beside  
it was a study table, the lamp on it still glowing brightly and books opened upon  
it and scattered paper everywhere. "reading at this late hour?" I asked, looking  
at his face.  
  
His amber eyes looked at me and smiled. "I was researching something when I felt  
the presence of my father's minions...." he trailed off, obviously hating the  
memory.  
  
"you better rest then," I said, placing a hand on his cheek. He was obviously  
surprised by my actions and so was I, immediately retracting my hand from his  
soft skin and looking away.  
  
But then, he caught my hand before I put it back in place and he placed it over  
his heart. That's when I realized that he was bare from waist up. "hear me, Sakura,  
as long as this heart beats, it would only beat for you." His words touched me.  
They were sincere and truthful. Feelings unexpressed gistened in his eyes as I  
looked at them, his face giving that charming smile. Truly, maybe I would see him  
as not what other people say because he is the son of the dark lord. After the  
brief moment, he led me towards the bed. "sit here for a while Sakura." he said,  
pushing me gently on the bed.  
  
I stared at him as he hurried over to his desk and scrambled over parchments and  
drawers. And finally, having found the thing he was looking for, went back to  
me holding a wornderful necklace in his hands.  
  
"how beautiful..." I said.  
  
"is it?" he asked.  
  
I looked at him and nodded. "who owns it?"  
  
"you do."  
  
There was silence.  
  
"I do?" I echoed questionly.  
  
"yes.." he said, placing the necklace around my neck, "and you must always wear  
it, never to be removed, do you hear? never to be removed."  
  
I wanted to ask why but I had I feeling that he would never answer so I just nodded.  
  
"I guess we could sleep now."  
  
"I guess so."  
  
There was a moment of silence and he moved towards the other side of the bed.  
Awkwardly I just lay on my side of the bed, my back facing him. The bed moved  
as he eased himself into a comfortable position. I closed my eyes and was  
preparing to sleep when I felt his hands embrace me by the waist. I immediately  
stiffened at his thouch. I'm not prepared yet, I thought hoping that he might  
hear them. I was afraid to tell him, even if he was my husband, because he was  
still the dark lord's son and if he didn't listen, I'd be forced to face the  
inevitable. I closed my eyes shut in acceptance to what might come but surprisingly,  
his hand just stayed there and after a few moments, I felt his gentle snoring.  
I felt secure in his arms, and after a while, I fell asleep.  
  
  
I woke up in the morning, suddenly awakened by the sound of a door slamming shut.  
I opened my eyes slowly in order to adjust itself to the bright sunlight. When my  
eyesight adjusted, I saw an angry Syaoran stamping his foot on the floor, mumbling  
something. I stood up. "anything wrong?"  
  
He looked at me, anger flashing in his eyes and then softening as his amber eyes  
met my geen ones. There was a long moment of silence, then he spoke, "We can't stay  
here..."   
  
"can't stay here?" I echoed, "why?" I asked, not really because I wanted to stay in  
the castle, because this was HIS home and now he wanted to go away - as if he was  
being driven away..... maybe...  
  
"for reasons that does not concern you." he abruptly answered. "we'll pack lightly,  
and travel secretly. Secrecy is our best ally."   
  
I couldn't understand as to why we had to travel like so, but more or less it was  
obvious that he would not discuss the topic any further. I simply nodded in agreement.  
  
"We'll pass through the mines. The prisoners are escaping tonight. We'll go along  
with them." he suddenly said.  
  
"the prisoners?" my mind suddenly whirled to my old friends... and Touya, the  
brotherly figure who always protected me when I was in the mines. Then I remembered  
their plans of escape, the one he told me about just before I left for the choosing.  
  
"we'll meet up with Touya there.... I assume that you know of him?"  
  
"yes.... he was the former liutenant of the Royal Command" I answered. "..how?"  
  
"did I meet up with him?" he continued my question. "we've been meeting secretly,  
that's the reason to my absence before the wedding. I have suffered from my father's  
clutches just like any slave and I will not tolerate it any longer." he answered,  
hatred overflowing in his voice. "we leave tonight. Go and pack. bring only what is  
necessary and nothing more." he said and left the room.  
  
  
I packed only a few things, including a small nacecklace given to me by the princess.  
The necklace was simple and it looked like a small key of somesort. Others were  
a spare shirt and shorts, and some healing kits that I knew would be necessary.  
  
It was nighttime when Syaoran came back into the room, which I barely left through  
the day, he tossed me a black riding cloak with a large hood. He wore the same thing  
but the color of his seemed to change with the backround. By midnight, we had left  
the castle grounds, with him leading the way, silently. He chose the best path  
for we didn't encounter any guards along the way. We passed through the garden,  
a long a door; long since forgotten; covered by vines.  
  
We passed through the woods, our cloaks blending well with the shadows. There  
was and odd feeling of familiarity in what I did, running stealthily across  
the grounds, though I knew that I haven't done any thing to have me skilled  
in that certain field. By the time we got out of the woods, the bright moon  
had already shown its face, the stars winking beside it. Then, suddenly, we  
stopped.  
  
"what...." I said, and he immediately put a finger on my lips. For a moment,  
we just watched, hiding in a bush, waiting for something to come or pass; I  
don't know which is which.  
  
"there" he whispered suddenly, pointing towards another cloaked figure; rising  
like a dark shadow, heading towards us.  
  
I thought it was a sentry or a guard and it surprised me when Syaoran stood  
from our hiding place. The figure halted and looked up. The moon's gentle light  
seeped through the darkness and unveiled the man's face.  
  
"Touya.." I whispered, standing up myself.  
  
  
END 


	4. Chapter 4

Fated Circle: Four Sacred Treasures of Earth  
  
  
n/a: I do not own and will never own Card Captor Sakura (though I whish I did)  
it is owned by CLAMP. This author is merely borrowing so please don't sue me!!!^_^;  
  
  
~Part 1   
Byakko: The Sacred Sword of the White Tiger  
Chapter 4  
  
  
He was looking like his usual self. Wearing a dark-blue cloak made him look like  
some mysterious person. When he saw me, he immediately ran over to me and hugged me.  
  
"touya.... I missed you..." I whispered to him.  
  
He held me a distance from him and smiled. "same here." he replied. Touya then  
turned to Syaoran and they walked a distance from me. Both faces were very serious  
andthen they started talking in whispers.  
  
I knew that I shouldn't be listening (though I find that odd) so I moved away  
from them and just stared at the sky. For long hours I overheard them whispering  
in an angered manner. The silence around me clung to me like sweat. It was so  
deafining.  
  
I guess that I dozed off when I felt a soft nuge awaken me.  
  
It was Syaoran.  
  
"w-what?"  
  
"It's time to go now. We'll be marching through my father's gardens. Much safer  
that walking on open ground." he said.  
  
I wiped the sleepiness from my eyes and stood up. I was surprised at what I saw.  
We were already in a different place with lots of people in dark colored cloaks.  
I knew these were th people who worked in the mines. Some of them had a distrusting  
look in their eyes, some were filled with hope.  
  
"keep your head down and don't talk to anybody else except Touya and me. We decided  
to keep your identity secret since all of the people here think you're dead. We  
have to be silent if we don't want to be detected." he explained.  
  
I just nodded my head in agreement.  
  
  
We passed through the gardens and the night turned into dawn. I can see that there  
were only a few people risking this journey, I know that most of them rather work  
than be discovered and suffer a worser fate. The tavel became harder and faster. The  
longer we stay here at the light of the sun, the more chance that we would be detected.  
There was no choice but to keep walking or die.  
  
After a few more minutes of walking, my legs became tired and I knew that from the  
looks of the others that I wasn't the only one. But then, we were called to a halt.  
  
"wait! I know that we are all tired but what if we get discovered here?" I heard  
a man say. Many heads nodded in agreement.  
  
"We have to stop." I heard Touya's strong voice. "my guide tells me that we are  
already at the edge of the gardens. We have to wait here till dusk. We'll be  
crossing the desert by then. It will be more advisable to travel as much as we could  
while it's dark."  
  
I agreed in his statement but still, doubts were still lingering inside me. What if  
we got discovered? whal would happen to these people?  
  
"Don't worry, I've put us all under a cloaking spell." I heard Syaoran whisper beside  
me. I looked at him and was comforted by the warming smile across his face.   
  
After that brief moment, he looked away and that's when I noticed that his hood was  
lower than when I last saw him. I thought that the reason must lie within his looks  
that led to his heritage. He IS and STILL the dark lord's son.  
  
  
My worries faded as dusk suddenly appeared in the horizon. As soon as it was dark  
enough, we started walking again. I heard from Syaoran that we'd be walking in a  
shouthernly direction and we'd be passing through Agerstown first. Agerstown is a  
town in the continent of Beluah. It is surrounded by different landmarks. Romalia  
(where we had come from) to the north, forests of Solitude to the west, Traveller's  
roads to the east, and the seacoast desert to the south.  
  
From what Syaoran had revealed to me, we'd only be walking through the said town  
during midnight, when the whole town was asleep. He said the supplies that the  
people had brought were enough to make them survive a week's travel through the  
desert. Then, we would part from them and go to our own separate paths when we reach  
the Sea port.  
  
From that information alone, I knew that most of the people here would be going  
to Nadezha to the west. I heard that that one of the two continents that was   
protected by the Goddess Zoe, so it was protected from the dark lord's power.  
The other continent was Wilfrid to the south. I heard that that continent was  
and icy desert with the most extremes of weather changes. The Migi Archipelago,  
a group of small and large islands to the east, was also occupied by the dark  
lord's relm. Beluah, the continent where we are, is to the north. In between all  
the said continents is the Sea of Swords, usually a place of sea battles.  
  
It wasn't long until we found the city of Agerstown. It wasn't a very prosperous  
city and it was filled with the dark lord's minions and soldiers.  
  
"we wait here till midnight." I heard Touya shout to his comrades.  
  
We were at the egde of a small cluster of trees with the roads and the town well  
in view. It was still afternoon. I knew that it would be a long wait.  
  
  
  
END 


	5. Chapter 5

Fated Circle: Four Sacred Treasures of Earth  
  
  
n/a: I do not own and will never own Card Captor Sakura (though I whish I did)  
it is owned by CLAMP. This author is merely borrowing so please don't sue me!!!^_^;  
  
  
~Part 1   
Byakko: The Sacred Sword of the White Tiger  
Chapter 5  
  
  
The wait that I thought would be agonizingly long was relatively short. Afternoon  
turned into darkness and I was there, sitting beside a tree and leaning on it.  
  
"Sakura, we have to go now." Syaoran's voice reached deep into my mind.  
  
"okay." I replied. I stood up and stretched my muscles, this would be just like  
the others walks, I told myself. But something deep inside me told me that all was  
too good and going too smoothly to be true.  
  
  
We ran by ones and twos, hiding in every shadow that we could find. There was  
no scenic view... or maybe there was - but I was so busy running that I didn't  
notice it. Syaoran was always ahead of me, and sometimes I felt ashamed when he  
had to wait for me because of my slowness. But then, we were there, right in  
front ot Agerstown.  
  
"so quiet." I suddenly found myself whispering.  
  
"Too quiet..." Syaoran said.  
  
I looked at him in surprise. Then a thought struck me. What if we were discovered?  
  
"Syaoran, we have to scout around the area.." Touya said. He was behind me, still  
keeping his hood close to his face.  
  
Syaoran nooded and looked at me. "keep still. whatever happens."  
  
The two then darted into the darkness and the moon's light were shielded from  
us by the clouds. I saw their silhouettes from the safety of my bush. I prayed  
silently for their safety. But it seemes that the gods and goddesses hadn't heard  
my prayers. Just as I finished saying the last word, I heard Syaoran's voice  
shout out, "stay where you are!!"  
  
But though that was what he said, I couldn't help but peek. I almost screamed.  
The light of the moon was back and it clearly showed their captors. Surrounding  
them were dozens of small, demon-like creatures with greenish scaly skins and  
with large yellow orbs for their cat-like eyes. They had no tail but had a dull  
white colored horn on thier foreheads.   
  
People around me didn't seem to want to follow Touya's orders when they suddenly  
attacked the seemingly small group of demons. But then, it was a bait. Almost all  
the people who went out to save them got caught in the trap as well as dozens of  
goblins suddenly jutted out from nowhere. I almost got caught myself if it wasn't  
for my clumsiness that my foot got caught and I fell flat on my face before I even  
got to rise from the bush that I was hiding. And I was thankful that I did.  
  
"We'll lock 'em up in the town dungeons for now. We'll be bringing them back to  
Romalia with us when we leave." a large booming voice said. I didn't peek, fearing  
that if I did, I would be seen and caught as well.   
  
I guess you could say that I'm their only hope now.  
  
  
END 


	6. Genbu: The Crystal of Power : Part 2 Ch...

Fated Circle: Four Sacred Treasures of Earth  
  
  
n/a: I do not own and will never own Card Captor Sakura (though I whish I did)  
it is owned by CLAMP. This author is merely borrowing so please don't sue me!!!^_^;  
  
  
~Part 2   
Genbu: The Crystal of Power  
Chapter 6  
  
  
The morning came quickly and the sun was hot. Agerstown was a market place for  
Romalia. Though it was small, it was very productive. Merchants from the Migi  
Islands often come here for trade. Princess Chiharu once took me here.   
  
When I saw many people going into the city, I imeddiately stood up, fixed myself  
and ran towards the crowd. With the hood of my cloak upon my head, I looked just  
like any other merchant that was there, protecting my eyes from the sun.  
  
While pretending to look at the things the stores sold, I observed my surroundings.  
There were still many guards around the place and I knew at once that going here  
at night would prove fatal. Just when I was about to turn to the next street, I  
heard my stomach grumbling.  
  
"you'll just have to wait." I told myself, giving my stomach a few rubs.  
  
Then I continued walking.  
  
  
It was afternoon and the sun glared more brightly. I rested on a bench beside  
the shade of a tree. I guess that I must have walked three, four or five hours  
in observing the whole town before I finally stopped for a rest here, at the  
park. There were many merchants here resting, just like me.  
  
Hungry, thirsty and tired, I just sighed at my predicament. With no money to  
buy any food or drink(Syaoran carried it), I had to find a way to save a  
husband, a friend and other people before the guards who caught them leave  
for Romalia. It wasn't going to be easy ... I had no skill in stealth, no  
quick reflex or thinking, no weapons or even knowledge on how to use one! I  
only had my wits with me.  
  
Suddenly my stomach gurgled.  
  
"hmm... you seem to have a big problem there... you look fammished!" a voice  
beside me said.  
  
I looked at the direction where the voice came from an saw a man sitting beside  
me. He had a fair complexion, dark blue eyes, thin-rimmed glasses and short,  
black hair. I must have been thinking so deeply that I didn't notice him sit there.  
Then I blushed.. "uhn... ha-ha! I-I'm sorry... d-did I disturb you?"  
  
The man smiled. "me? no!" he laughed, "_I_ seemed to have disturbed you..."  
  
I smiled at him. "oh! no! not at all!"  
  
"This is really my lucky day..." he said, turning to look at the sky.  
  
"Oh? how so?" I asked.  
  
He looked at me again and this time, it was as if he was borrowing through my  
mind. "I got extra earnings today. And now, I'm talking with a beautiful lady  
with a beautiful smile..."   
  
I blushed.  
  
"Oh, I'm Eriol by the way and you are...?" he trailed off, while raising a hand.  
  
"I'm Sakura..." I smiled, as I took his hand and shook it.   
  
"so, what brings you here?" he suddenly asked.   
  
"business." I answered before I could think it over. I silently scolded myself  
for that.  
  
"oh? so what business are you in?"  
  
From the looks of this guy, I knew that he knew all the merchants in the place so  
I knew that couldn't continue with that lie. I immediately thought of a response.  
"business?" I said, trying to act surprised. "I ment busyness - you know, work. I  
came here for a bit of rest..." I finished, then looked at the sky as if to find  
some peace in it.  
  
"oh... I see..."  
  
I was afraid that he might ask more questions but suddenly, my stomach grumbled  
again.  
  
He suddenly laughed. "we should go get some food. I'm getting kinda hungry too."  
  
I shook my head. "I can't..."  
  
He looked at me and raised a brow. "oh? why is that?"  
  
"no money."  
  
"I thought you worked."  
  
Mentally scolding myself for letting my tongue almost slip away, I made up another  
fib. "I got fired just this afternoon before I went here. I broke a lot of things   
in the place so the manager just got fed up and fired me. I'm pretty clumsy, you  
know." I chuckled. The last line wasn't a lie, you know.  
  
He chuckled. "I see... well, why don't I treat you? what do you say?"  
  
"oh no... I'll never be able to pay back the food that you'll buy for me..."  
  
"nah! never mind paying me back. As I've told you, I got extra pay today so I  
can treat you." he then stood up and held out a hand. "no buts and I won't  
accept 'no' for an answer."  
  
I sighed. "okay.."  
  
  
We went to some fancy restaurant and he ordered some expensive food(!), which I  
embarrasingly ate voraciously due to my fammine. He just laughed and after we ate,  
you could say that I apologized for my behavior a million times before I stopped  
and accepted his "that's okay"s. We walked and talked and then we just walked  
again. I was enjoying the sights so much that I almost didn't notice that we  
were all alone in a empty lot.  
  
"w-why are we h-ere, E-Eriol..?" I said. I felt fear seep through my very bones.  
  
His back was facing me and with one quick movement, he faced me and at the same  
time unsheathed a dagger and pointed it on my neck. "tell me who you are." he  
said menacingly.  
  
"I already.."  
  
"LIES!!! I've been in this town for two months already and I've explored every  
nook and cranny of this place. I've never seen you before and from your dress I  
could tell that you're not one of the merchants and you've been travelling hard  
on foot. Don't lie to me... WHO ARE YOU?" he asked again.  
  
Me body started shaking like a leaf. I didn't know if I could tell him the truth.  
What if he was one of the dark lord's minions? What if he'd capture me as well?  
I was trapped. I knew that escape would be foolish and he'd know if I lied again.  
I was cornered.  
  
There was no escape.  
  
  
END 


	7. Chapter 7

Fated Circle: Four Sacred Treasures of Earth  
  
  
n/a: I do not own and will never own Card Captor Sakura (though I whish I did)  
it is owned by CLAMP. This author is merely borrowing so please don't sue me!!!^_^;  
  
  
~Part 2   
Genbu: The Crystal of Power  
Chapter 7  
  
  
My stomach churned and my thoughts whirled. Should I? would I? COULD I??!?! ...  
I didn't know. I felt the tip of the blade slowly press against my skin. My  
shaking led the tip even deeper and I felt the trickle of blood on my skin. It  
made all the hairs on my skin go up....  
  
"TELL ME!" he repeated again.  
  
"I.... I...."  
  
'don't tell it!!! He's a spy and he'll kill you anyways!!!' a voice inside my  
head said.  
  
'tell it!!! that's better than dying! and you have no proof that he's really  
a spy!!' another voice said.  
  
My mind almost drove me to madness had it not been for Eriol's strong voice  
that pulled be back to reality.  
  
"are you ok?" he said, his voice filled with worry. His knife was down and both  
his arms were holding my shoulders.  
  
I couldn't believe it.  
  
I just nodded my head.  
  
His face looked down and he sighed. "I can't believe this. You actually got me to  
worry 'bout you. You're supposed to be a prisoner, you know..." he said, then he  
stood up and helped me to get up as well.  
  
"why did you worry?" I asked  
  
He looked at me and smiled. "I'm actually a sellsword you know. I was off duty  
when I saw you. But you were so close to where my hirer was so I acted naturally  
and lured you.... but by the way you acted... and I could tell, that you're no  
threat..... I was just going to stop when you fainted. Sorry.."   
  
"I fainted?" I suddenly blurted out. Was I a chicken, or what?!?  
  
He just smiled. "you know, that nick on your neck is pretty big. You better come  
with me...... and trust me this time, I WON'T hurt you."  
  
  
I don't know what made me do it(I guessed that it was my nature), but I did  
trust him again. This time he did not hurt me or do anything bad, just helped  
me a lot. He told me a lot of things and even toured me around. I started to  
feel guilty of not telling him my predicament. After a few more hours of walking,  
we came to a halt.  
  
"here's where I work... they've been staying here for months and so have I. I've  
already started to get bored now..." he said.  
  
The building we stopped in was an apartment. Outside though, it looked like a  
store with all the silks in display.  
  
"hey! Eriol! where have you been!??!" an angry voiced, heavily muscled, bald-  
headded man said.  
  
"coming back from my time-off." he cooly answered.  
  
The bald man's face became red-hot. "you're time-off was over about an hour  
ago boy! and we don't tolerate that here!"  
  
"hey! he was on duty even if he wasn't here!" I suddenly said angrily, "he  
checked places where you wouldn't think that might not contain spies to see  
if there might possibly be any!!"  
  
The man looked at me and I realized what I just did. "and you are you?!"  
  
"she's my cargo." Eriol said, putting himself between me and the man. "And if  
you have forgotten, my mission here isn't exactly linked to yours. I think I've  
had enough of you..." he paused for a while, and for a moment there I think the  
man got scared. "...I quit. Let's go Sakura."  
  
He walked away and I followed. The man was shouting threats at us then we were  
so far away that I couldn't hear him anymore.  
  
"I'm sorry. I seemed to have gotten you fired." I said as I looked at the dusty  
road.  
  
I felt him stop so I stopped and looked at him, he was smiling. "no, you heard  
what I said back there didn't you? I quitted..... and from now on, I shall be  
under your service.." he said, kneeling to me and kissing my hand.  
  
"under my service? Oh please do stand up.... I cannot possibly pay..."  
  
"who said anything about payment?" he said, cutting me off, "I give to you my  
service freely. Please do say yes.... I have a very strong feeling that you need  
me.."   
  
I smiled.  
  
  
By the end of the day, Eriol knew about the whole story about me and what happened.  
I actually got to discover who he was too. He wasn't a sellsword like he said, but  
a knight from the continent Wilfrid(he didn't tell me exactly where, out of keeping  
his secrecy). He was here to go on a mission to find the four chosen people that  
have the powers of the sacred beasts. At first his story was quite unbeliveable.....  
until he showed me a certain artifact.  
  
The artifact was round and crystal-like. It glowed every color in the rainbow and  
other colors that weren't in the rainbow. It was beautiful. Then he told me that  
only the chosen person would be the only person to use it.  
  
"then that means..." I suddenly said, my eyes wide in shock.  
  
"yup. I'm a chosen. I was blessed by the sacred Genbu. I was here because I felt  
a strange aura here." he said.  
  
"so, you could actually feel them?"  
  
He gave me a nod.  
  
"I would be a burden to your mission then..."  
  
"I think not. I think that you would help a lot. Did you know that the prince is  
a chosen too?"  
  
"Syaoran? he is? by whom?" I said.  
  
"By the sacred Byakko. He has this sword.... have you seen it?"  
  
Memories flooded my mind and I involuntarily touched my still bandaged neck.  
  
"does it hurt?" he suddenly asked. All worried again(maybe now it's because  
he now knows that I'm the wife of a prince..).  
  
"no.... it's nothing... I just remembered something." I said looking down, then  
I changed the topic. "when are we going to help them? I heard that the guards  
were leaving soon and they're gonna be with them."  
  
"tonight" he simply said.  
  
  
  
END 


	8. Chapter 8

Fated Circle: Four Sacred Treasures of Earth  
  
  
n/a: I do not own and will never own Card Captor Sakura (though I wish I did)  
it is owned by CLAMP. This author is merely borrowing so please don't sue me!!!^_^;  
  
  
~Part 2   
Genbu: The Crystal of Power  
Chapter 8  
  
  
Before the struck of midnight, we discussed our plan. We were going to infiltrate  
the place where Syaoran was and save him and the others. That was about it. How we  
were going to do it exactly, I didn't have a clue.  
  
"how are we going to find him?" I asked.  
  
"I can't actually feel him now" Eriol answered, "something or someone seems to be  
blocking the energy coming out of him."  
  
"doesn't that sound bad?" I asked, worried.  
  
He looked at me and sighed. "it does. It might mean he's dead."  
  
I just stared at him in shock.  
  
"but you can find him, you know. Feel for him."  
  
Those were the last words that I heard from him. Me head whirled and whirled. I  
felt dizzy. My vision blurred and I could barely breathe. Suddenly, it stopped.  
before me were white fields. Snow was gently falling on the ground.   
  
"s-sa-k-kura..." I heard a voice behind me say.  
  
I turned around and almost screamed at what I saw. Syaoran.... he was all torn  
and bloddy. Amidst the pure white snow his blood made its way to my feet like a  
river. And in his hand he held his sword which was broken into pieces.  
  
"SYAORAN!!!!"  
  
I ran toward him. I tried to reach out for him. But I couldn't.  
  
I couldn't....  
  
  
"SAKURA!!!"  
  
I woke up. It was a dream of some sort. My breathing was hard. You could say  
that I was gasping for life. I looked at Eriol and I just broke down. "E-e...  
Eriol..." I stammered, "S-Syaoran!! ...he's... he's..."  
  
"take it easy now, Sakura. Whatever happened we'll just have to discuss later.  
For now, it'll just have to wait after save Syaoran OK?" he said, comforting me  
and rubbing my back.  
  
I nodded.  
  
  
After a few moments, we put our plan into action. Eriol led the way with his  
artifact(which he called the Iridyss) before him. He said that it gave off a  
thin line of light that only he could see and so, we walked along.  
  
I was almost asleep when we found the building we were looking for and Eriol  
had to shake me to really wake me up.  
  
"here we are. Iridyss says so. Now, for thesecond phase." he said.  
  
I looked at him oddly. "and what's that?"  
  
"Infiltrate... remember?"  
  
"oh....how are we going to do that?" I asked.  
  
"watch"  
  
Eriol then held Iridyss high and glowed faintly. The glow travelled from the  
Iridyss to Eriol's arm then, his body. He touched me with his hand and I almost  
jumped from fear but then, he looked at me with his gentle eyes and I let the  
glowtouch my whole body. It felt cool and tingly it was like mist covering you  
in the night. After a few minutes, the glow slowly disappeared and.....  
  
"what happened? nothing seems to have changed." I said.  
  
Eriol smiled. He reached for something within his cloak and then gave it to me.  
It was a mirror.  
  
I looked and it only to see... nothing! absolutely nothing! "what happened?!?  
I can't see my reflection!!! is this a trick mirror?!?"  
  
Eriol chuckled. "No, you're invisible. Only the two of us can see each other."  
  
I was releived by what he said. For a moment there, I thought that I've become  
a ghost!  
  
And so, we went to building with the knowledge that we were invisible. Eriol  
told me that I should keep quiet at all times because we could still be heard.  
The Building was simple and there were no guards found outside. Who would have  
guessed that a small little home would be a secret military base?  
  
Eriol led me to the back door of the building. He whispered to me that the front  
door might have more guards and traps. But when we reached the back door, there  
were two guard dogs guarding it.   
  
"what do we do now?" I told him silently.  
  
He just looked at me and put a finger to his mouth, signalling me to keep quiet.  
He then reached for something in his pocket and threw it at the bushes over the  
other side. The bushed reacted as he must have planned and the two dogs went for  
the bait. Immediately, the two of us scurried to the door, opened it(it was  
unlocked!) and we went inside. Immediately, he came to an abrupt stop. I bumped  
into him by accident but he didn't move an inch.   
  
He started to point downwards and I looked. Tripwire. Whatever it might have  
triggered, I'm glad that Eriol had seen it before we even passed it. Carefully  
passing through, we continued. Not very far from us was a stairway going down.  
There was also a door beside it but Eriol headed for the stairway. I followed  
carefully behind. It was a narrow corridor. Wide enough for only one person to  
fit in.   
  
"run for it." he whispered to me, and he ran towards the darkness.  
  
I followed him and ran. I was afraid that I might bump into him in the darkness  
but I know that if we didn't make it to the other end before someone else enters  
the corridor from the other side, we'd surely be discovered. So, I just kept on  
running, checking my pace every once in while to avoid bumping into him. The   
tunnel was long and had no other entrances within it. There were a few twists  
and turns but after a while, we came out of it.  
  
The room that we had now entered was quiet. We were underground now. The walls  
were made of brick layers and the floor was wood. It didn't have any furnishings  
except for a small stool, table and an emblem hanging on the wall. It was a  
flamming skull with two snakes coming out from its eyes. The Dark Lord's insignia.  
I was staring at it for quite a while then I noticed Eriol from the corner of  
my eye. He was looking away from me and making signals of some sort so I came  
over.  
  
I walked silently across the wooden floor, which was creaking beneath me. I  
was about a step away when stepped on a wodden board and heard a loud click.  
Eriol quickly faced me and was to grab me when I fell. The last thing I saw  
was Eriol trying to reach for me.  
  
  
I didn't know how long the fall was, but I know I fell and must have knocked  
my head into unconsciousness. When I woke up, I was in a dark room. I couldn't  
see a thing. Then, I saw a small hole where bit of light was coming through.  
Curious what was on the other side, I peeped through it.  
  
'Syaoran!!!!' me head screamed. He was chained to a wooden board and was bloody  
all over....  
  
....he was being tortured!  
  
"SYAORAN!!!"  
  
  
END 


	9. Chapter 9

Fated Circle: Four Sacred Treasures of Earth  
  
  
n/a: I do not own and will never own Card Captor Sakura (though I wish I did)  
it is owned by CLAMP. This author is merely borrowing so please don't sue me!!!^_^;  
  
  
~Part 2   
Genbu: The Crystal of Power  
Chapter 9  
  
  
I _had_ to scream.  
  
Mentally scolding myself for acting irrationally, I immediately put both of my  
hands over my mouth. I just _HAD_ to scream! I moved away from the peep hole as  
I saw Syaoran look over here and two goblins move to my spot. Moving into the  
shadows, a portion of the wall opened.  
  
"check every nook and cranny for that voice!!" a harsh and cold voice shouted.  
  
"yes sir!" the two goblins replied in their horrid voice.  
  
I knew something 'bout goblins though - they could see into the dark. And that's  
when I remembered that I was invisible. Gathering my cloak and skirt, I moved   
as silently as I could to the open light. Hopefully this thing would last until  
Eriol would end it.  
  
The torture room was damp. Grey stone blocks covered with moss were its walls  
and water dripped from the stallactites on the ceiling. I kept on remininding  
myself not to scream if ever I see a rat. Just in case.  
  
There were five people in the room, including Syaoran and the two goblins. The  
other two people were the torturer(as usual, bulky and hooded) and a tall man  
with long white hair and white beard. The tall man wore robes and a pointed hat  
which made me realize that this man was a wizard.  
  
*I'd better be EXTRA careful* I reminded myself.  
  
I moved as silently as I could, closer and closer to where Syaoran was. Then,  
I finally reached him.  
  
"Syaoran, are you ok?" I wispered silently.  
  
At first, he was quite surprised and bewildered but then he composed himself  
again. "who are you?" he whispered back.  
  
"It's me Sakura. I'm with this guy named Eriol but..."  
  
"Eriol?!!!?!" he almost shouted.  
  
"what's the noise about _prince_ Syaoran??" the bearded man asked. His voice  
was VERY low.  
  
Syaoran just grunted and spitted on the ground.  
  
The robed man went closer and I backed away. Silently and carefully.  
  
Something unexpected happened.  
  
Even quicker than I could ever might have seen, one of his bony hands jutted  
out of his robes and grabbed my cloak.  
  
"APPAREO!!!!" he shouted, his voice thundering.  
  
My body glowed faintly and I could see the surprise etched on the faces of the  
executioner and the guards. I knew that Eriol's spell was being removed. I tried  
to kick or even just struggle from his tight grip on the collar of my dress but  
I couldn't. I was paralyzed.  
  
"and who are you, little girl??" he asked.  
  
There was something magical about it. I wanted to answer the truth. My voice  
rushed to my throat. I knew I shouldn't tell the truth because I would be used  
and I tried to find the truth. You know... tortured.  
  
"I'm.....I'm..."  
  
"CAECUS!!!"  
  
Suddenly, there was a bright light then I couldn't see anything. Like someone  
turned out the lights. I heard the guard's squealing and the old wizard's  
thundering voice. I felt someone grab me and run and not a moment after that,  
I heard the sound of chains and Syaoran's grunting.  
  
"this will hurt a bit." someone warned.  
  
Then I felt like someone hit me on the head.  
  
Everything went black.  
  
  
When I woke up, I was on a soft bed(?).  
  
The sun was in my eyes and I felt like I woke up on the wrong side of the bed.  
I looked around and I saw that I was lying in a hammock held by two date trees.  
There were tents all around me and lots of plants too. In the middle of the whole  
setting was a large, blue lake.  
  
"Sakura, are you ok?" someone asked.  
  
I looked around and saw Syaoran. "Syaoran! are you ok??" I asked. I immediately  
got out of bed and ran over to him. But before I could reach him, everything  
around me started to whirl and whirl. I stopped and put both me hands on my  
head to try to stop the whirling. The next thing I knew, I felt myself falling.  
  
"woah! take it easy. I can see that you're still a bit woozy." I heard Syaoran  
say as he caught me.  
  
"w-what happened?"  
  
"do you still remember that bright light?" he asked.  
  
I paused to think. I closed my eyes and then I remembered. "yeah..."  
  
"well, that was Eriol's work. Then, if you remembered the warning voice, he  
used a spell on us that would let us go through walls. Unfortunately, before  
you got out, Bardus - that old geezer of a wizard - put a counter-spell and   
Eriol, thinking that you still had the spell on, was going to get you through  
the wall and all you got was a wound on the head." he said finally, taking a  
rest to breathe.  
  
"I'm sorry, Sakura.."  
  
I turned around to see Eriol smiling apologetically and scratching the back of  
his head.  
  
I smiled. "It's okay Eriol. Anyway, where are we?"  
  
"In a oasis. You've been sleeping for 2 days Sakura." he said, "as soon as I  
rescued you two, I found the other's cel quite easily. We travelled the desert  
the same night and travelled for 2 more days until we reached this place."  
  
"wow. And if I was asleep all those time.... then..."  
  
"yep, we carried you. Boy, have you gotten fat!" someone butted in.  
  
"Touya!!" I said. Slowly, Syaoran and I stood from out sitting position and I  
walked closer to Touya to hug him. "I thought I'd never see you again!"  
  
"you think I'd let my little sister wander alone?" he said. "of course not!  
you're my little sister! we were planning to get out you know."  
  
"I know. You're good at that." I said, breaking our hug.  
  
We were all getting emotional(at least I was sure that _I_ was emotional)when  
someone approached us.  
  
"Sir Touya, Lord Syaoran," he addressed them, "we saw scouts heading this way.  
It is possible that a search party might be right behind them."  
  
"we have to leave at once!" Eriol said.  
  
"NO" Syaoran said, "we'll give them a taste of their own medicine."  
  
"we've got the same thing in mind, Sayoran." Touya said.  
  
The two were about to leave with the messanger when Syaoran looked back.  
  
"Eriol, you make sure that Sakura's unharmed or I'll slice your head off."  
Syaoran said.  
  
"and I'll tear you to shreds." Touya added.  
  
Eriol put his fist over his heart and bowed. After that, the two left. I knew  
that even if they didn't say those threats, Eriol would still protect me. Maybe  
it was because he was under my service or maybe it was just a feeling but something  
inside me said so.  
  
"what ARE they going to do?" I asked.  
  
"they're gonna make this oasis a graveyard." he simply said.  
  
  
END 


	10. Chapter 10

Fated Circle: Four Sacred Treasures of Earth  
  
  
n/a: I do not own and will never own Card Captor Sakura (though I wish I did)  
it is owned by CLAMP. This author is merely borrowing so please don't sue me!!!^_^;  
  
** I hope you'll like this chapter. If I were to put a title to it it would be:  
Blood of a Thousand on a Tiger's Paw ^^ (wish I could but I can't. Anyway, I wrote  
it there already. ^^)  
  
  
~Part 2   
Genbu: The Crystal of Power  
Chapter 10  
  
  
Everyone in the camp prepared. Women and children(I was surprised when I found  
out that there were children with us, actually) were left with Eriol and I and  
the men were left with Syaoran and Touya. The plan was for the women and children  
to travel ahead and the men keep the soldiers back. Those who would survive the  
onslaught would catch up with us.  
  
"I don't like going with the others." I told Syaoran.  
  
He looked at me with surprise, "you can't be left here, Sakura. To tell you the  
truth, you'll be a burden."  
  
I was hurt at what he said but I knew it to be true. Still, I didn't want to  
go on ahead.... "but Syaoran! I just can't!!"  
  
"why?"  
  
I paused. *Why?* I thought, *because I care for you and Touya, because I don't  
want to flee when I can fight, because I'm worried if both of you will survive,  
because ..... because of many things I can't possibly tell you now....* I looked  
down. There were too many reasons...  
  
"what?...no reason?... Sakura, please... you just can't stay here." he said,  
then turned around to leave.  
  
*I can't....because....*  
  
  
Moments after that, I sulked in a corner. I don't want to leave. I kept on  
repeating to myself.  
  
"Sakura, you better prepare yourself... we're leaving after a moment." Eriol  
said.  
  
An idea suddenly struck me.  
  
"okay. And, um, Eriol..."  
  
"yes?"  
  
"My throat kinda hurts so I think I won't be talking for a while. Ok?" I said,  
rubbing my hand gently over my throat.  
  
Eriol smiled at me. "sure."  
  
Immediately after doing that, I saw exactly what I wanted to find: a woman with  
the same color of coat as I did.  
  
"excuse me," I said.  
  
The woman turned to look at me. She was a bit older from me. "yes?" she asked,  
her voice gentle and soft.  
  
"can I ask a favor from you?"  
  
"favor? what can I do?"  
  
I leaned closer to her so that only she could hear what I would say. "I want you  
to wear cowl low so that your face wouldn't be seen. Then, stick close to that guy  
over there - the one with the glasses.." I paused and pointed Eriol to her. "his  
name is Eriol. When calls for Sakura, do come to his call. Don't use your voice  
unless necessary and just answer him with gestures ok?"  
  
The woman looked a bit distressed. "b-but...m-my lady! what if he finds..?"  
  
"don't worry. I already told him that I have a throat problem..." I winked at her,  
"...so he's not expecting me to talk much. I'll come to your aid. I swear I won't  
let him get angry at you ..... will you do it, please?"  
  
The woman looked deeply at me and sighed. "alright, my lady. But please, whatever  
you are planning to do, don't kill yourself."  
  
I smiled. "Don't worry, I won't.....thank you."  
  
  
A few minuted later, the troupe left. I stayed behind and hid under some greenery.  
Eriol called for me and she came. I was so happy! Eriol didn't seem to notice. Now,  
I was here and I knew that I had to be careful. The thought of battle suddenly  
ignited a flame deep within me.  
  
"All men, go hide as planned. Remember, don't attack until they're all inside!"  
I heard Touya's voice.  
  
Then, I heard the rustling of leaves as men hid inside the shrubbery and the  
shadows of the big trees. I had my cowl down low as well, to avoid being discovered.  
  
"remember what Touya said, ok?" the man who hid beside me said.  
  
I just nodded.  
  
  
And so, the waiting took place. First came were the scouts and the decoys were  
lauched so that it appeared that there were still people in the oasis for   
capture. And they fell for it. Next came the soldiers and goblins. The human  
soldiers on horseback and the goblin soldiers on foot. Slowly but surely, they  
marched into the trap. As soon as they were all in, Touya gave the signal and  
all the men from their hiding places attacked. I hid back for a moment. I swore  
to myself that I'd appear only when I'm needed. But for now, the men were doing  
great. They were surrounded!! the enemies had no chance of escape!  
  
My sixth sense started to twinge.  
  
It was going well.  
  
Too well for such an unexperienced and small army of fugitives.  
  
*Of course it's going well! this is Touya and Syaoran's plan!* I reassured myself  
but my bubble was suddenly popped when I heard loud cries from the outside.  
  
I slowly popped my head out to see what's going on, and I wish I didn't. There  
were many goblin and human bodies scattered around. Some were allies and some  
were enemies. But that wasn't the worst part.  
  
Yes, we had trapped the ones who came inside. But, we were trapped by a much  
larger troop who attacked from the outside. I don't know how they knew we were  
hiding, but I knew that I was needed now.  
  
I slowly unsheathed the dagger that Syaoran gave me and the already burning flame  
within me went berserk and it seemed that my hand had a mind of its own. I even  
surprised myself as I saw my hand weave in and out, attacking then defending. I  
even managed to counter my enemies' attacks! I got a few nicks ans slashed here  
and there, but my back was defended by allies who weren't aware of who I really  
was.   
  
Sometimes, I was alone and got in a tricky spot. But someone always manages to  
break through their own fights and help me. You could say that I was really lucky.  
WE were luck. But our luck ran out too quickly. We were out numbered. Too many  
enemies too few men. And they got fewer and fewer by the minute as the others died.  
  
Then, I don't know how but, my back bumped Syaoran's back.  
  
He was amazing.  
  
He moved so fast that I couldn't even see his arm movements. All I know is that  
men and goblin alike were just bursted out in blood or got cut into two or got  
decapitated when they get near him.  
  
Simply amazing.  
  
All my watching got me into trouble though, as my fighting arm got slashed. I  
could've been stabbed if it wasn't for Syaoran's quick action that got the man  
slashed into two.  
  
"watch you enemy!!" he shouted.  
  
I just nodded my head. *thank goodness he didn't see my face!* I thought.  
  
Then, something magical happened. Eriol appeared beside me and all those enemies  
who touched him just exploded into a bloody mass.  
  
"Eriol! what are you doing here?!?!" Syoaran said as he continued to fight.  
  
Eriol turned angrily at me. "because of this little stow-away." he said, as he  
removed my cowl and revealed who I was.  
  
"S-s-sakura!?!?!?!" he said. All his movements ceased and he almost got killed  
hadn't it been for Eriol who sent the man, who was after Syaoran, suddenly gasping  
for air. "I'll get mad at you later." he told me, as he resumed fighting.  
  
I continued fighting as well, praying for what was to come after this.  
  
If I was to survive.  
  
"Syaoran, this is hopeless! You're surrounded everywhere!!" Eriol said.  
  
"I know." Syaoran replied, "can you teleport everybody?"  
  
"what?!"   
  
"I said, can you teleport everybody."  
  
"not very far." he replied.  
  
Syaoran slashed his opponent into two vertically and faced Eriol. "do it then."  
  
"what about this?!" he asked.  
  
"just leave it to me." he said, smiling in a wolfish manner.  
  
They seemed to understand each other as Eriol nodded.  
  
"but Syaoran!!!" I shouted.  
  
He just looked at me reprimandingly and I kept quiet. I had no right to be here  
in the first place.  
  
Eriol then took out Iridyss and it glowed. It glowed so brightly that all fighting  
stopped. And in a blink of an eye, we were all in another place. A place where the  
women were.  
  
At least, all of us except Syaoran.  
  
"what the heck happened!?!?!" I heard Touya's complaining voice.  
  
"yeah??" others shouted.  
  
Then complaints began to sprout.  
  
"I teleported you all back to safety. By orders of Prince Syaoran." Eriol answered  
in a strong voice.  
  
All went silent.  
  
"Eriol, what about...?" I asked.  
  
"He's gonna be fine, don't worry." he assured me.  
  
Right after he said that, there was a large and very bright explosion on the  
location where the oasis was to be located.  
  
"S-syaoran...."  
  
  
END 


	11. Momiji: The Isle of the Last Leaf : Part...

Fated Circle: Four Sacred Treasures of Earth  
  
  
n/a: I do not own and will never own Card Captor Sakura (though I wish I did)  
it is owned by CLAMP. This author is merely borrowing so please don't sue me!!!^_^;  
  
** ha-ha hello!!! To tell you the truth, I just read the Reviews recently... and  
boy, was I shocked! Thank You!!!!!! *a millon clapping hands are heard* ^_^  
I'll try to update as fast as I can.....*looks at sAkura^siLver and shivers*  
and to all Syaoran Li fans out there.... well, I'll see if he dies or not ...  
but I think that'd be too risky...*^_^; sweatdrops* ne?....maybe I'll just hire  
some guards.....*picks up the phone and dials the secret service*  
  
  
~Part 3   
Momiji: The Isle of the Last Leaf  
Chapter 11  
  
  
The same night, we camped right then and there, under the stars. I faced the  
direction where I last saw the white light. It was gone now, not even a trace.  
  
"I wonder where Syaoran is...?" I asked to no one in particular.  
  
"he'll be fine." someone answered. It was Eriol. "He's a strong person."  
  
I looked at him under the light of the waning moon and the stars. He looked  
pale, as if spent. He looked like someone who was just recovering from a terrible  
sickness.  
  
"are you ok?" I asked.  
  
He faced me and smiled. "I'm fine Sakura. You should go to sleep and rest your  
wounds." he said, then left.  
  
The women were very kind. They helped all of us who came from the battle. Some  
were crying for their lost husbands and we made a memoriam for them. I was feeling  
better too, though the slash on my arm still hurt a bit.  
  
Slowly, I laid myself down on my cot. I was still looking at the same spot when  
I lied down. And Syaoran was the person in my mind before I slept.  
  
  
The next morning, our encampment was fixed and we started to travel away.  
  
"Eriol, where's Syaoran?" I asked.  
  
"I don't know." he answered.  
  
I just stood there, while people passed my by. "not here?" I murmured. I ran  
back to Eriol's side and stopped him from walking. "what do you mean not here?"  
  
"not here. He's not here. He didn't arrive last night." he replied.  
  
I heard someone call him and he said something to me, but I couldn't understand  
it. All was going blur. It was as if my world had crumbled. At that moment, I  
felt like I was alone in that desert - like a lost child. The wind was lashing at  
my back. I was blinded by the sun's glaring rays and felt its boiling heat.  
  
I remembered my dream...  
  
  
Syaoran.... he was all torn and bloddy. Amidst the pure white snow his blood made  
its way to my feet like a river. And in his hand he held his sword which was broken  
into pieces.  
  
I ran toward him. I tried to reach out for him. But I couldn't.  
  
I couldn't....  
  
I-I......  
  
  
"Sakura?"  
  
I snapped out of my thoughts and saw Touya standing before me.  
  
"don't just stand there, you're being left behind." he said, pointing behind me.  
  
I looked and saw that the others were a couple of paces ahead of me. But it  
didn't matter.... even though we've only been together for so short, I felt like  
I've loved him all my life... he showed me... that he cared..... nothing mattered  
  
"Sakura?"  
  
"I-I....I c-could-dn't-t...r-reach him...."  
  
Touya placed both of his hands on the sides of my face and gently made me look  
up, to meet his caring gaze... "Sakura, be strong. He must be alive right? You  
must trust him..... he won't like it if you cried..." he said, and gently, he  
wiped away the tears that ran down on my cheeks.  
  
I held his hand in mine and smiled. "Thank you Touya, my brother..."  
  
  
By the end of the sixth day after the war at the oasis, we reached Maremaris.  
Maremaris is a port town at the nothernmost edge of the Desert Coast. We had  
finally reached the ocean.   
  
Touya said that they had a contact there and that we'd be safe. We found that  
to be true. When we entered, we were greeted joyfully and some who lived here  
that were with us returned to their homes. There were no guards about the place  
and the people here said that they only visit for a certain time, escorting the  
merchants going to Agerstown.  
  
Before we scattered, Touya told us that we'd be leaving very early in the morning  
to have a good start.  
  
  
The house I stayed was owned by two old people and they were very kind to me.  
Though old like its owners, the house had a good view of the sea. I stayed by  
the backyard just looking at the vast blue body of water, sparkling, just like  
the star-filled sky.  
  
"Sakura." the old woman called.  
  
"yes?"  
  
"there's are some men outside who wishes to see you." she said.  
  
I smiled at her. "thank you, grandma." I said, and walked outside.  
  
There, just outside the fence, stood Touya with Eriol. Just whom I was expecting  
to see.  
  
"what is it?" I asked them.  
  
The two looked at each other then faced me again. Eriol spoke up first.  
  
"Sakura, we're leaving. Now."  
  
"now?" I asked, puzzled.  
  
Touya put a hand on my shoulder. "yes. Just you and Eriol."  
  
"why?"  
  
"We're going to the Momiji Archipelago. We need to get there, fast." Eriol  
explained.  
  
Touya's face hardened. "A note arrived by falcon just a while ago. We can't tell  
you what's in it 'cause it's quite confidential." he paused, then lowered his  
voice to a whisper, "someone's after you."  
  
I was speechless in surprise. "me?"  
  
"I think it's that necklace of yours." Eriol said, pointing to the necklace that  
Syaoran gave me.  
  
"you're not safe here. You better leave now." Touya said.  
  
"and I, as your bodyguard, will go with you." Eriol said.  
  
I gripped my pendant tightly and sighed. "okay. But why Momiji? why not Nadezha?"  
  
Eriol smiled. "A huge library is there, the best in the face of Terra! and we  
might find some valuable information about that pendant of yours." he said.  
  
I just sighed as I walked away to say good-bye to the old man and woman.  
  
  
We reached the beach shortly, just me, Touya and Eriol.  
  
"there's the boat." Touya pointed to a medium-sized boat.  
  
Eriol chuckled. "we won't be needing that."  
  
"WHAT?" Touya exclaimed, "how the hack are you going to go there?"  
  
I was shocked as well, but Eriol just smiled at us. He then brought out Iridyss  
and held it forth. "Spinel Sun, come forth." he said, and a white mist covered  
Iridyss and landed on the gound before us. The mist swirled and swelled and took  
shape of a large black panther with butterfly wings.  
  
"how cute!!" I said.  
  
*wind blows*  
  
"...uh...Spinel, she is Sakura and he is Touya. Sakura, Touya, this is Spinel;  
my guardian." Eriol said and he walked closer to Spinel and gently patted its  
head.  
  
"hello." I greeted.  
  
Touya just waved a hand.  
  
"hello." Spinel greeted.  
  
The two of us froze.  
  
"I-it talked!!" Touya said, pointing his finger at Spinel.  
  
"of course I talk!" Spinel replied.  
  
Touya put his hands akimbo. "but you're a cat!! normal cats don't talk!!"  
  
The black panther raised an eyebrow. "do I look normal to you?"  
  
*wind blows*  
  
Eriol stepped in between them an talked to Spinel in hushed voices. I heard a  
little bit they were speaking in a foreign language. After a moment's talk,  
Spinel disappeared back into the Iridyss.  
  
"what's up?" Touya asked.  
  
Eriol smiled proudly. "Sakura, Touya, meet a friend of mine, Valdeiumentum."  
  
At that moment, not far from us, the waters swirled. In the pale light, we saw  
a hump rise from the water. As it went closer, it became clearer. It was an ocean  
creature...  
  
... A giant porpoise with a transparent backshell.  
  
  
END 


	12. Chapter 12

Fated Circle: Four Sacred Treasures of Earth  
  
  
n/a: I do not own and will never own Card Captor Sakura (though I wish I did)  
it is owned by CLAMP. This author is merely borrowing so please don't sue me!!!^_^;  
  
  
~Part 3   
Momiji: The Isle of the Last Leaf  
Chapter 12  
  
  
"Valdeiumentum?" I said, "that's a very complex name."  
  
Eriol gave a light chuckle. "You can just call him Valdum. Sometimes I just call  
him V." he said.  
  
"that's one heck of a creature though" Touya said, "do you plan to ride on its  
back?"  
  
"No Touya, we're gonna ride INSIDE the shell." replied Eriol.  
  
I looked at him, puzzled. "how?" I asked, while walking closer to it.  
  
He turned to look at me and smiled. "go ahead Sakura, touch its back and concentrate."  
  
I gave a sigh and did as told. I placed my hand gently on its transparent shell  
and closed my eyes. Suddenly, there was warmth in my hands and it forced my eyes  
open. I couldn't believe what I saw: the transparent shell of the porpoise started  
to ripple, like water, and it gave off a spectrum of light. Slowly, and surprisingly,  
my hand started to sink into its shell and beneath it.  
  
"that's how." Eriol suddenly said.  
  
He then came closer and did the same. Unlike me, who was so slow, he submerged  
into its shell and inside its back. Inside, I saw him remove his shoes then come  
closer to me. And then, he pulled me inside. It was cool and comfortable inside  
and it wasn't slimy like I thought it might be.  
  
"Sakura, you have to remove your shoes as to not hurt my friend." Eriol said.  
  
I nodded my head and removed my shoes at once. Then, I stood up and felt the  
softness of its back below my feet, I looked outside and waved to Touya. He  
waved back.  
  
"Shall we?" Eriol asked.  
  
I giggled in excitement. "oh please DO!"  
  
Eriol walked closer to the head, seemed to whisper something to it and we were  
off. The start was slow but when we were submerged underwater we glided underwater  
like we were on ice.  
  
  
There were many sights under the sea. Large fishes, odd corals and shipwrecks  
and more. There was even a time when we passed a place where the smallest of  
creatures glowed a faint light. It looked like snow underwater except that it  
just hung there.  
  
Each time we passed a shipwreck, Eriol would explain it to me. What was its name,  
what was it for.... you know, the complete history. They were such amazing ships.  
I admit, we did see some treasures inside it but we didint get it. He told me   
that some of it were cursed. I just don't know if that was the truth or he just  
told me that to get my mind off it.  
  
After a moment, we passed an undecorated part of the sea and there was just   
silence between us.  
  
"my, my, how rude of me!" he suddenly said.  
  
"what?"  
  
"why, look at you! you're all rags!" he told me.  
  
I stood up and looked at myself. "rags? I feel quite normal in it."  
  
"from a princess's point-of-view, THOSE are rags." he said and before I could  
say another word, he brought out Iridyss.  
  
"what are you planning to do?" I asked, moving slightly away from him.  
  
"give you a bit of change!"  
  
  
I didn't know if it was morning or not because I lost all sense of time in the  
seafloor. I glowed a million times with the magic of Iridyss before Eriol could  
be content on what I wore. At first I thought he'd make dozens of dresses appear  
before me and make me put them on but, my clothe-changing was so fast that within  
a blink of an eye I might have worn two or three dresses already.  
  
"thank you, Eriol." I told him as I looked at myself. I was wearing an aqua-colored  
dress with long and wide-mouthed sleeves and a flowing skirt. It was made of silk.  
  
He smiled. "you're welcome."  
  
BOOM!!  
  
A loud, echoing sound riverbrated though the water. I turned (because Eriol was  
already facing it) and saw a balck cloud just a few feet away from us.  
  
"what's that?" I asked, getting closer to him.  
  
"I don't know... it seems like..." he paused, "MINIONS!!" Eriol shouted, and he  
got closer to Valdum's head and spoke to him in a language that I didn't understand.  
All at once our speed increased and increased. We were so fast that all I could  
see outside was a blur.  
  
But lady luck wasn't smiling at us. The enemy was smaller and faster. They  
caught up with us within mere seconds and under the dull light, that's when I  
saw that they were sea wyrms with riders on their backs. I couldn't see more  
but the shadows of the riders, because they werent so close to us.  
  
Again, they blasted at us with what looked like a silver stream of lightining.  
Eriol countered it with his own spells, without the help of the Iridyss.  
  
"Sakura, whatever you do, don't get close to the shell." he told me, and I  
moved towards the center of the small room to make sure.  
  
Amazingly, one of their group caught up with us. That's when I got a closer  
look on the sea wyrm's rider. Sea Devils!!! my mind shouted, and they were  
truly devils. They had a deep-green colored skin, all scales; two sets of arms  
that ended with webbed and sharp-clawed hands; a pair of webbed and clawed feet;  
a hideous face with glaring red eyes, flat nose and a mouth(twice the size of  
ours) fill with razor-sharp teeth and on their heads was a fin that ran all the  
way to the back. The Sea Devils. I heard them many-a-times from sailors when I  
was still with princess Chiharu, and what an awful sight they were now. All of  
the Sea Devils were carring black-colored tridents. And from those tridents,  
their magic came fourth.   
  
Now, the Sea Devil that was able to catch up to us helf his trident aloft and  
stuck it deep into one of Valdum's fins. Valdum's roar of pain shook the water  
around us and almost frightened me but the Sea Devil was enjoying every second  
of it.  
  
Eriol now faced this creature that struck us and blasted him away. He was hit  
on his side and left a trail of blood.  
  
"hold on tight Sakura, the battle has only begun!" Eriol said.  
  
  
END 


	13. Chapter 13

Fated Circle: Four Sacred Treasures of Earth  
  
  
n/a: I do not own and will never own Card Captor Sakura (though I wish I did)  
it is owned by CLAMP. This author is merely borrowing so please don't sue me!!!^_^;  
  
  
~Part 3   
Momiji: The Isle of the Last Leaf  
Chapter 13  
  
  
To our left, another explosion stirred the sand. Valdum doged it and almost sent  
be reeling to my right, almost touching the shell. Meanwhile, the group of Sea-Devils  
(there were 7-8 of them) followed us like a pack of wolves. We were hit many times  
but if it weren't for Eriol's spells, we might have been dead by now.  
  
All of a sudden, Valdum roared again. Blood spilled and the sapphire waters became  
violet.  
  
"aduro!!" Eriol shouted, then a blast of blue flames consumed the unseen attacker.  
"This is not good..." he said.  
  
"Valdum is not doing well either. We're slowing down!" I told him. And sure enough,  
the Sea Devils were upon us.  
  
"I have no choice..." Eriol said. And as soon as he finished saying it, he brought  
out Iridyss from his cloak. "Spinel Sun!!"   
  
Iridyss glowed and mist surrounded it. Spinel appeared shortly afterwards. Eriol  
whispered something to him and he jumped out of the safety of the shell. Just as  
Spinel was passing through the shell, his form changed. The butterfly wings on his  
back diappeared and fin appeared on top of his head as well as behind each limb.  
His thin tail became thicker and it ended with a fin as well [n/a: *think vaporeon*].  
All at once Spinel attacked the Sea Devils. He was so fast that one might have thought  
that he was a black streak of lighting.   
  
Eriol then faced me. "Sakura, we're going out of here. Take this." he said, handing  
he the other end of a rope that he had apparently put around his waist.  
  
I understood immediately and got busy into working the knots. They had to be super  
stong.  
  
When I was ready, Eriol held Iridyss up high and it glowed brilliantly. All of  
a sudden, Valdum disappeared beneath our feet. I almost panicked if Eriol didn't  
show me that we were now inside a bubble.  
  
"won't this pop?" I asked.  
  
"don't worry Sakura, it won't it's magically conjured." he assured me.  
  
Then the first of my fears showed up. One of the Sea Devils noticed us and  
they immediately stopped from trying to attack Spinel and swam towards us. Eriol  
suddenly did something to the rope and his end disappeared.  
  
"what are you doing Eriol?" I asked with worry.  
  
"here," he said, handing me a a bent sword, "it's a scimtar. Use it to defend  
yourself if they get too close. the bubble's not gona pop."  
  
"w-what are you p-planning?" I could hear my voice shaking.  
  
"Just be safe." he told me.  
  
Before I could stop him from doing anything, he slid right out of the bubble and  
swam to the Sea Devils head on. Spinel dashed to his side and the two went on.  
surprisingly, three of the six Sea Devils dismounted from their sea wyrms and  
separated from their group. The three still mounted surged froward to meet Eriol.  
  
You would know by now that the three who dismounted headed towards me. I, who  
didn't know how to use any type of sword, just slashed the scimtar wildy around  
me. To my surprise, I wounded one of them. One of their group raised his trident  
and unleashed a spell. I screamed. After a few moments, that's when I noticed that  
the pendant Syaoran had given me glowed.  
  
Then, something formed before me - just outside the bubble. The water swirled  
and swirled and then, the next thing I knew, I was staring a a child-like face.  
It was a little girl...a surprising little girl. She had blue skin and long,  
blue hair. Her ears were long and pointed and were like fins, she had wings  
like that of a flying fish and she had the tail end of a fish instead of feet.  
But the thing that most caught my attention was her deep, sapphire eyes that.  
  
All at once, she had her back to me and her arms moved. Then I noticed that the  
Sea Devils were being pushed away by some strong current. I was wondering because  
we were at the same level and yet, the bubble didn't move an inch. The Sea Devils  
fought agains the tide but they became weary as the fore of it grew stronger and  
soon enough, they were gone.  
  
"thank you." I told the little mermaid. I knew she helped me. Somehow, the pendant  
had called to her and she heard it. Then she disappeared. "even now Syaoran protects  
me..." I told myself as I gripped the pendant tightly.  
  
Then I remembered Eriol.  
  
I looked around then I was shocked when I saw that I was already very far away  
from him. Question after question popped into my head and I grew confused. I was  
so confused and scared by now that all I could remember next was the cold wetness  
of the water on my face....  
  
  
END 


	14. Chapter 14

Fated Circle: Four Sacred Treasures of Earth  
  
  
n/a: I do not own and will never own Card Captor Sakura (though I wish I did)  
it is owned by CLAMP. This author is merely borrowing so please don't sue me!!!^_^;  
  
  
~Part 3   
Momiji: The Isle of the Last Leaf  
Chapter 14  
  
  
I realized my error: I had plunged into the water with only a breath of air.  
But there was no time to waste. Dragging my silken dress behind me, I swam  
towards Eriol. I was immediately spotted by one of the Sea Devils. It swam  
towards me and Eriol and Spinel noticed this at once.  
  
I was only a few feet away from Eriol and it was clearly seen that he was  
surprised that I wasn't in the bubble anymore. He tried to move away from  
his enemy but he wasn't able to. I froze at the spot knowing that I had to  
face this devil by myself.  
  
The Sea Devil wasted to time in attacking me, and as soon as I was within  
range, it slashed its trident toward me. I moved my scimtar in front of me  
as a defense and to my surprise, I blocked it. The Sea Devil withdrew its  
trident and I attacked at once, wildly slashing my scimtar at it. It dodged  
my attacks easily but, I guess, because my attack had no pattern at all, I  
was able to slash it here and there. My arms grew weary from all that hacking,  
slashing and turning and soon, I noticed that I was slowing down(not that I  
wasn't already slow in the beggining). The Sea Devil smiled evilly and raised  
his trident to attack.  
  
*BOOM!*  
  
The Sea Devil exploded right before my very eyes. After I was able to bring  
myself back to reality, I looked below me and saw that it was Eriol's doing,  
just like I thought. I swam towards him and he was looking at me, smiling,  
when something bad happened. He suddenly looked down and blood spilled behind  
him.  
  
The Sea Devil whom he had driven away before had pierced a spear through his  
side. I gasped. Then Spinel made short work of his foes(a sea devil and a wrym)  
and immediately finished the other sea devil's life.  
  
I swam towards him in hurry and held his wound to try to stop it from bleeding.  
But then, I felt my head swirling and my vision going blur and clear, blur and  
clear. I felt Spinel's body against mine and then.....  
  
...  
  
  
  
I woke up with a swirling head and I fell back again on the soft cloud.  
  
Soft cloud??  
  
I looked behind me and that's when I noticed that I was already out of the  
water and on a nice, soft, four-poster bed.  
  
"w-where am I?"  
  
"Sakura! you're awake!! I'm so glad!"   
  
I looked where I heard the voice come from. "Eriol!!"  
  
He smiled at me. He looked fine but a little bit pale.  
  
"are you ok?"  
  
"my wound still hurts a bit but I'm just fine... how about you?"  
  
I put my hand on my head. "I'm just okay...I guess.... but can you tell me  
what happenend?"  
  
"that's a long story to be told later. For now, you have to meet somebody..."  
he paused, then a lady appeared beside him. She was the same height as me(but  
I really couldn't tell since I was half-sitting), had a long, black hair and  
beutiful deep blue eyes. She was really pretty. "Sakura," Eriol started again,  
"this is Tomoyo, Master Enchantress. Tomoyo, Princess Sakura."  
  
"hello, your highness." she greeted in a beutiful, sweet voice.  
  
  
END 


	15. Seiryuu: The Mirror of Mystery : Part 4 ...

Fated Circle: Four Sacred Treasures of Earth  
  
  
n/a: I do not own and will never own Card Captor Sakura (though I wish I did)  
it is owned by CLAMP. This author is merely borrowing so please don't sue me!!!^_^;  
  
  
~Part 4   
Seiryuu: The Mirror of Mystery  
Chapter 15  
  
  
"Hi." I greeted back.  
  
'she's so beautiful...' I thought. Tomoyo had a fair skin that matched her deep-  
blue eyes and long black hair that flowed like water. She was wearing a turtle-  
necked, scarlet robe(the type that sorceresses always wear) that was bound by a   
golden belt. Finally, around her neck, she wore a fist-sized, round amulet with a  
carving of a dragon on it and it was made of gold.  
  
"how are your wounds?" she asked me.  
  
I looked at her with an eyebrow raised. "wounds? what wounds? I don't remember  
having wounds."  
  
She sat on the bed and took my left arm. "this wound." she said, showing me that  
my arm was bandaged from the shoulder to the wrist, "it was a pretty big slash."  
  
She put down my arm and I answered, "better, I guess, I don't feel it aching so  
much."  
  
"that's good" she said, then faced Eriol, "you better rest as well...your wound  
is yet to be healed. He was pretty stubborn about seeing you Sakura." she smiled  
at me with a wink.  
  
Eriol slowly stood up and smiled, "you rest well, Sakura."  
  
"you too."  
  
The two of them slowly walked away and left. I was alone with my thoughts again.  
How I hated that. It made me think about Syaoran and how..... ... I can't bear it.  
I missed him so much. He may have sometimes acted coldy around me but I knew deep  
inside that he was a good person...'such a grave blow..' I thought.  
  
  
Three days have now passed. I was now allowed to walk around the room. Eriol and  
Tomoyo often visited me together and kept me company at times but there was a person  
who was always there. Her name is Rika. She is the same height as me and has a  
short, bobbed hair. She is the personal maid of Tomoyo but even if she's only a  
maid, she acts very elegantly.  
  
"ello, miz Zakura." Rika greeted with her odd accent(I forgot to tell you that  
she comes from Wilfrid. She said that people in Wilfrid have an accent like that)  
as she entered my room. It was still early morning.  
  
"hello Rika.. you have a basket with you! where are you going?" I asked.  
  
She looked at me and smiled. "I am going to ze market place. Zer ar many beautiful  
flowerz zer for you, madam."  
  
"the market you say? ohh! I'l love to go there! can I come?"  
  
Rika frowned. "I zon't know if ze miztrez vill allow it zough..."  
  
  
Soon enough, I got dressed up and went with Rika. I asked permission from both  
Tomoyo and Eriol, since Tomoyo urged me to tell him where I was going. But they  
allowed me anyway on a condition that I would only be called Lady Sakura, not  
your highness...that was easy enough.  
  
The market, as it always is everywhere, was a busy hive. It wasn't so crowded  
but it was pretty tight it some places. Soon enough, I forgot all about the  
heat and the crowd as we reached the flower shop. There were many different and  
beautiful flowers there.  
  
"Ah, good morning Rika." a tall, handsome man greeted us. He was a bit older  
than us(I could tell) and he had a nice brown hair.  
  
I smiled at him and smiled even more when I saw Rika blush.  
  
"Oh! you-" I nudged her a bit in the ribs, she almost called me 'your majesty'.  
"I mean, Lady Zakura, zis is mizter Terada, ze shop keeper."  
  
"I'm pleased to meet you." I said.  
  
"the pleasure's all mine." he replied, taking my hand and kissing it.  
  
I giggled. "It seems that there's more to you than a pretty face." I told him.  
  
"thank you for the complement" he said, "what can I get you now?"  
  
  
We stayed in the shop for almost and hour. Rika and I giggled as Mr. Terada  
kept us entertained, even when there was another customer. Rika obviously  
liked him and he seems to like her too. I think they were a nice couple.   
  
After getting some Honeysuckles, Cornflowers and Irises, we went back into  
the mansion. Tomoyo immediately snached me away from Rika and gave me a tour  
of her mansion. We visited lots of places like the kitchen, which looked like  
it could serve a thousand guests with all those stoves; the bedrooms, some  
of which(especially Tomoyo's) were as big as houses and exotically decorated;  
the ballroom and many other rooms that I can't remember because of their mere   
number. But to summarize it all up, Tomoyo's house was VERY big and _VERY_  
beautiful.  
  
By mid-afternoon, we had tea and lunch - and what a lunch that was! There  
was roast lamb and other exotic foods that I didn't recognize or know. There  
was all sorts of sweet deserts too! There was so many dishes that I thought  
that I couldn't eat until dinner. But I was wrong. When dinner came, the food  
prepared was so attractive that I couldn't help but eat. After dinner, the  
three of us sat by the large living room, on the very comfy sofa, before the  
fireplace.  
  
"this is so wonderful!" I said.  
  
"I can say that too!" Eriol smiled, "after many days of travelling, we finally  
have luxury."  
  
"oh! didn't you travel via camel through the desert?" she asked.  
  
I gasped. "how did you know that?"  
  
Tomoyo smiled at me. "Eriol told me. Besides, you can't hide any secrets from  
an enchantress." she told me.  
  
For the rest of the night, I kept quiet while Tomoyo and Eriol talked and talked  
only when I was called upon. I became scared of where I was. When we went to bed,  
I was still uncomfortable.  
  
'can't hide any secrets from an enchantress'  
  
Her words echoed in my mind. 'Can't I really?' I asked myself, ''oh come on!  
what secret have you got to hide?'' a voice inside me replied.  
  
My thoughts stopped and I became more calm. There was a point there. What  
secret DO I have to hide after all? there was nothing, really.....  
  
"Sakura?" a musical voice piereced though my thoughts. I knew at once that it  
was Tomoyo.  
  
I rose from my bed and sat. It was Tomoyo alright, and she was standing by the  
door. "yes?"  
  
She walked closer to me. "Tomorrow, I ask you to go to the library with Rika.  
It's quite far but not too far from here. Will you go?"  
  
I thought about it for a while. "okay." I answered. I should be safe enough  
with Rika.  
  
"good." she said, "Someone is there. That person don't know that you are coming  
or knows that you are here. He won't wait for you so I suggest that you leave  
early in the afternoon. Good night then." she walked away and closed the door  
behind her before I could say 'good night' as well.  
  
"someone is waiting?" I muttered.  
  
My heart beat suddenly became fast. 'What if she was going to give me to those  
people who want my pendant??' I asked myself. ''She wouldn't! you're Eriol's  
friend!''  
  
My heart skipped a beat.  
  
'what if they were together in this? Syaoran didn't seem to trust him when  
they met. What if all those things about being a Chosen One was a lie?'  
  
  
END 


	16. Chapter 16

Fated Circle: Four Sacred Treasures of Earth  
  
  
n/a: I do not own and will never own Card Captor Sakura (though I wish I did)  
it is owned by CLAMP. This author is merely borrowing so please don't sue me!!!^_^;  
  
  
~Part 4   
Seiryuu: The Mirror of Mystery  
Chapter 16  
  
  
I woke up late in the morning. I bathed and ate, as the usual morning ritual  
goes and then went to my room. I didn't come out and Eriol often asked as to  
why but I didn't answer him. I thought about my ideas over and over until my  
head ached. then, mid-afternoon came. I bathed(as it was quite hot) and dressed  
up only in a thin and cool white shirt, black pants and boots topped with a  
green tunic held by a brown belt.  
  
There wa a knock upon my door.  
  
"enter." I said.  
  
It was Rika. She was dressed in her usual lavander dress with a short sleeve  
and skirt that reached only a handspan below the knee. It seems that she was  
already informed of my journey.  
  
"shall we?" she asked.  
  
I gave her a smile and stood up.  
  
we left he mansion silently with Eriol sleeping and all. We rode Tomoyo's   
personal coach drawn by pure white stallions.  
  
"They're amazing...." I said, putting aside my troubles for a while. "..I heard  
they're really hard to train."  
  
Rika smiled. "ze lady az zome magic wiz ze animalz it iz really amazing! juz  
a touch en volia! she'z tamed them."  
  
After a few moments, my thoughts whirled back again to my suspicions. 'It's  
baseless!' a voice inside me protested... but still....  
  
  
After a while, we finally reached the library. I don't know how much we travelled  
since I slept for - who knows how long? But we reached it anyway and I guess that  
that's fine. The library was a very old building but it was a magnificent building.  
the highest part of the whole thing was the dome-shaped ceiling. It was really  
a work of art and architechture. The whole thing was made of marble.  
  
"zid you know zat ze bulding was made by ze lady's anzestours? It waz zaid zat  
ze 'oul thing waz built wizin a year, non-stop majic 'ere en zere!" Rika happily  
said.  
  
I looked at it with repect. It was made by honorable people who, even though they  
were enchantors and enchantresses, labored with it day and night...and as Rika  
said....non-stop - if that "non-stop" part was true.  
  
  
We entered the library's arced doorway and went inside. It was more glorious!  
When Rika told me(once along the journey) that the whole building was made of  
marble, the WHOLE building was made of marble. Every shelf, counter, table,  
statue and decorations that decorated the whole area was made of marble.  
  
"I can't believe this...." I muttered.  
  
"she's a beauty izn't she?" Rika said in awe.  
  
The building was very wide and had three stories. To the left was a counter-  
table and that's where the guards sit. As we entered a bit deeper, many ivory  
tables with ivory stools that were attached to the floor were arranged in four  
straight columns and then......  
  
"ze lady 'az described zis perzon to me.....isn't zat 'im?" Rika said, as  
she pointed to a green-clad person that I have already once seen....  
  
the person had a strange hat on his head and his green shirt had a tail and  
sleeves that were really loose and wide and he was wearing a white, puffy  
pants. He was breathing heavily for some reason and was heading a book. His  
hands were clenched. But I wasn't sure...  
  
"Touya?" I whispered.  
  
  
END 


	17. Chapter 17

Fated Circle: Four Sacred Treasures of Earth  
  
  
**thank you all reviewers and readers!!! you give me inspiration!!! =D***  
  
  
  
n/a: I do not own and will never own Card Captor Sakura (though I wish I did)  
it is owned by CLAMP. This author is merely borrowing so please don't sue me!!!^_^;  
  
  
~Part 4   
Seiryuu: The Mirror of Mystery  
Chapter 17  
  
  
The man looked at me with his amber eyes and smiled.  
  
At that moment, I felt like I lost my tongue. I had not expected anyone else...  
but there he was, smiling at me....and his beautiful amber eyes...  
  
He stood up and said, "hello, Sakura.... I'm hurt you forgot me already." he feigned  
a hurt look on his face.  
  
I smiled brightly(as Rika described it:"ur zmile waz sooooo dazzling en it riched  
from ear to ear!") at him and embraced him at once. "Syaoran!!! I thought I'd never  
see you again!!!!" I shouted. Many "shhhh" came hissing everywhere. I blushed a  
little and then composed myself again. I looked up at his face and gazed deep into  
his eyes. "I thought you were....."  
  
"dead?" he said, finishing my sentence. He gave a light chuckle. "don't ever think  
like that again!" he said in a playful, reprimanding tone, "or I'd never look for you  
-ever!"  
  
I chuckled. "I'm sorry..." I broke my embrace and looked at the book that he was  
reading. "what..."  
  
He stopped me short by gently putting his hand on my lips. "I know you have a lot  
of questions on your mind right now. I'm just gonna borrow this book and let's go  
to my shack."  
  
"um...excusem moi..." Rika politely said.  
  
"Oh! Syaoran, this is Rika, the Lady enchantress' personal maid; Rika, Prince  
Syaoran, my husband."  
  
"your husband???" Rika said in surprise, "I....." her voice trailed off and she  
just smiled and curtsied.  
  
Syaoran bowed in returned and smiled at her. He then looked at me and raised a  
brow.  
  
I knew what was going on in his mind and just said, "like what you've already  
said, let's borrow your book and do the explanations later at your shack."  
  
"I have a better idea!" Rika exclaimed in whisper, "who zon't we go to ze mistress's  
mansion en do ze explanazions zere?"  
  
I smiled and looked to Syaoran with questioning eyes.  
  
"why not?" he said.  
  
  
And so, we all left the library with a light heart, smiley faces and an arm  
interlocked in his and the other holding his book. We rode the same coach back,  
with Rika riding up front with the driver saying that she'd give us privacy(though  
I tried to convince her that it was okay, actually), and enjoyed the scenery  
passing by. Actually, the scenery ended up being ignored when the two of us stared  
into each other's eyes.  
  
I don't know how time had passed(but it seemed faster than usual) when we  
reached Tomoyo's house. Rika knocked the oak doors four times. No answer.  
  
"zat's odd..." she said.  
  
"what's odd?" I asked.  
  
"yeah, what's so odd about not answering the door at once?...they might be  
upstairs or something.... you know, this IS a big house." Syaoran said.  
  
Rika looked at us with worried eyes. "ze door iz enchanted... ze door vill  
immediately open if someone knocks on it more zan thrice. And bezides, Lucas  
- zat's ze doorguard - iz alvaz by ze door... never leaves it! 'iz room iz  
actvally veside ze door itself! en he 'az sharp earz you know... he'll open  
ze door even iv you knock it just once...even at vidnight!"  
  
Syaoran and I stared at each other. It might be something to worry about...  
  
The door suddenly opened. Lucas' head popped out. "ah! Lady Sakura and  
Rika... so you're back!....with a guest!"  
  
...maybe not.  
  
I saw Rika smile and heard her sigh with relief. "I zought zat zomething  
vas vrong!"  
  
"n-no! I.. I was just away for a while..." he said.  
  
From the corner of my eye, I saw one of Syaoran's brow rise.  
  
"avay? vatever for? en vat avout ze enchantvent?" Rika asked worriedly.  
  
"....I..." he was cut short by Syaoran's sword.  
  
The tip of the blade was pointed against his neck. Rika gasped. I put a  
restraining hand on his sword-arm. "tell me, old man," Syaoran said, almost  
to a whisper, "something IS wrong isn't there?"  
  
The old man moved his head up and down a bit.  
  
Rika was about to shout and do some racket when Syaoran put his hand over her  
mouth. He whispered something to her and she nodded. Slowly, Syaoran removed his  
hand and she walked away, obviously shaking.  
  
"won't you go inside?" Lucas invited.  
  
I was about to protest but Syaoran eyed me and I caught hid drift. "Um, no,  
Lucas," I said, deliberately making my voice loud - but not to a shout, "Syaoran  
here had invited me to eat out... with Rika. So just tell Tomoyo that't I'll  
be home late."  
  
"I...I see. I'll tell the lady just that." he replied.  
  
"later, Lucas!" Rika said, trying to act cheerful.  
  
We were stepping away when...  
  
"WAIT!" Lucas suddenly shouted.  
  
"vat iz it. Lucas?" Rika answered.  
  
"Please don't leave me and forget me and not bring anything back or else I'll  
kill you!" he said.  
  
His answer raised an eyebrow among us. Syaoran stepped forward. "we're going  
to a lot of places" he said, "HOW MANY gifts do you want to have?"  
  
Syaoran's reply made me confused. 'what are they talking about?' I thought.  
  
"six!" Lucas replied. Beads of sweat glimmered on his forhead and he was shaking,  
even though it was only a little bit.  
  
I looked at Syaoran and he was thinking deeply. His brow was furrowed and his  
right hand was stroking his chin. Then, his eyes brightened up. He stepped towards  
Lucas then he held his left arm. Suddenly, Syaoran jerked Lucas away from the  
door and started running.  
  
"run!!" Syaoran shouted at us.  
  
We didn't have to be told twice. After a few seconds two men dressed in all black  
came out of the door and started chasing us. We ran on(though the book slowed me  
down), out of the gates, into the streets and into the crowd and immediately turned  
into an alley.  
  
"we... should.. be .... safe here." Syaoran said between huffs of breath.  
  
"what do we do now?" I asked.  
  
Syaoran inhaled a big breath of air then stood up straight. "First, we'll go to  
my shack and discuss things. Then we'll plan how to save Eriol and Tomoyo"  
  
I sighed and looked at each of my companion's faces. They were all weary, tired  
(especially Lucas) and worried. "we have to make a very excellent plan then" I  
said, "because whoever was to capture both Tomoyo and Eriol won't be a piece of  
cake!"  
  
All heads nodded in agreement.  
  
  
  
END 


	18. Chapter 18

Fated Circle: Four Sacred Treasures of Earth  
  
  
**thank you all reviewers and readers!!! you give me inspiration!!! =D***  
  
  
n/a: I do not own and will never own Card Captor Sakura (though I wish I did)  
it is owned by CLAMP. This author is merely borrowing so please don't sue me!!!^_^;  
  
  
~Part 4   
Seiryuu: The Mirror of Mystery  
Chapter 18  
  
  
Syaoran's shack was only a simple, cheap hotel. As soon as we got the keys to  
Syaoran's room, we immediately went in there.  
  
  
The room was pretty shabby only having a single bed for one at the far left   
corner from the door. There was a small drawer beside it and on top of it was  
vase with dandylions. To the right was a small table with one chair and there  
was a single window with worn, old cloth for curtains beside it. That made up  
all the furnishings. The walls were poorly painted with dark green and the  
wodden floor was rotten at some parts and at some points, creaked when stepped  
upon and.  
  
"I'm sorry if it's quite poor. I don't have enough money." he told us as he  
got the book he borrowed from me and laid on the table.  
  
"iz quite alright." Rika replied, "it iz definately much better zan staying at  
ze mansion right now."  
  
We entered the room and Syaoran bid Lucas to sit on the chair. Rika and I sat  
on his bed. "Sakura," he started to say, "I'm afraid that we'll have to tell  
our stories later. We'll have to hear the old man's story first."  
  
I nodded my head.  
  
Syaoran faced Lucas and gave a nod.  
  
Lucas nodded back and started to speak. "well, it all started like this: I was  
staing in my room, as usual when I heard a knock on the door. Thinking that it  
was Lady Sakura and Rika, I opened it. To my surprise, ten men in black robes  
and their faces were covered with their black hoods were standing by the door.  
Sensing danger, I went out and closed the door behind me. 'what do ye want?' says  
I, 'is the Lady Tomoyo at home?' the man before me asks. 'She's asleep. I'm afraid  
ye has to go back later' I told them then I turned my back and was 'bout to go  
inside when I felt something pointy at my back. 'take us to her' says them, 'I'd  
rather die' I replied. You see, no one can enter that door if I didn't allow it.  
But they had powers of their own."  
  
Lucas stopped for a breath.  
  
"they bent my will to follow them. 'twas a nasty feeling, ya hear? very nasty.  
I wasn't strong enough to defend myself against their magics, so I was forced  
and they entered. But we were all surprised. The Lord Eriol was there, standing  
with his hands raised for a spell. 'cast your spell and the old man dies' says  
the man, 'you think I care' Lord Eriol tells them. At that moment, me heart  
almost stopped - thinking that I'd die right then and there. But then, the man  
with the pointy object threw me aside. 'run Lucas!' shouts Lord Eriol to me,  
bit I was scared stiff. Theys battle but Lord Eriol was out numbered. There  
was a bright flash that hurt my eyes and when I could see again, Lord Eriol  
was inside a crystal-like shard, big enough for him to fit in."  
  
Lucas sighed and looked down.  
  
"do continue." Syaoran said, his brow was knotted with what I guessed to be  
anger.  
  
"The leader, I guess.." he started, "..the man who spoke to me, ordered two  
of his men to tie me up. Then they went up the stairs. I heard the screams of  
the servant-girls and the butlers as they met with the evil group. Then, I  
heard Lady Tomoyo casting her spells in a loud voice. Then, ther was a loud  
'bang!' then silence."  
  
"OH NO!!!" Rika shouted, suddenly standing up with tears filling her eyes,  
"you zon't tell zat ze lady....ze lady was caged into ze crystal like zing az  
vell??"  
  
Lucas nodded slowly.  
  
Rika sat back on the bed in disbelief. Tears ran down her cheeks. "zat iz  
'orrible!.." she muttered to herself. Knowing that I should comfort her, I  
embraced her and carresed her back comfortingly. She cried openly.  
  
"there, there... we'll save them don't worry Rika." I told her, then faced  
Syaoran "we WILL save them, right Syaoran?"  
  
Syaoran nodded. "Lucas, is there any other thing that you noticed about them?"  
he asked.  
  
"well," he started to say, "now that yous says it, they did wear this round  
gold medallion 'bout their necks. It was held by a thick chain of gold."  
  
"was the carving on the medallion a skull with snake heads comeing out of the  
eyesockets and the skull was surrounded by lightning?" Syaoran asked.  
  
"yes...yes... that's exactly how it looked like!" Lucas said, nodding his  
balding head.  
  
"Darn it!" Syaoran shouts, slamming his fist on the table.  
  
I stood up and went over to him. "what's wrong?"  
  
"those are the members of The Order, a group of Witches and Wizards under my  
father's command. They must be here to capture me. THE VILE SCUM!" he shouted,  
walking around, fists clenched.  
  
"iz zere anything ve can do?" Rika said, wiping her tears.  
  
"I'll admit that they're a though group to beat wheh they're in groups."  
Syaoran said, causing another sob from Rika, "but, there is a way. Are you  
all willing to go through it? We all have to act on this one, even you Lucas.  
what do you say?"  
  
"I'll go if you go." I told him, clutching his hands in mine.  
  
"I'll go too! I'm no old man!" Lucas said.  
  
"'ey! zon't leave ve vehind! I'll go too!" Rika followed.  
  
Syaoran smiled. Determination was clearly seen in his eyes. "We'll have to  
discuss the floorplan of the house first."  
  
"zat's vat I'm good at! I know every nook and cranny ov zat vansion!" Rika  
suddenly said.  
  
"Good. Then, we'll make a plan. We'll attack at dawn. I'm sure they'll love  
to see me again!" he said, looking out of the window and smiling evily.  
  
  
END 


	19. Chapter 19

disclaimer: I do not own and will never own Card Captor Sakura (though I wish I did)  
it is owned by CLAMP. This author is merely borrowing so please don't sue me!!!^_^;  
  
a/n: I'm gravely sorry that it took me such a long time to update. The free internet  
was over so I couldn't use it as often as before. I hope you'll like this chapter! here's  
a little something that might help you with regards to this particular chapter though...  
  
  
  
Fated Circle: Four Sacred Treasures of Earth  
  
  
~Part 4   
Seiryuu: The Mirror of Mystery  
Chapter 19  
  
  
That night, Syaoran discussed the mansion's grounds with Rika and Lucas.  
Syaoran bid me to sleep and that I would be awakened when the plan was  
formed. So I slept until a few seconds later(or so it seemed), a soft  
nudging woke me up.  
  
"vake up lady Sakura..."  
  
The accent was clearly heard and I knew at once that it was Rika. Slowly,  
I sat up on the bed and then I wiped the sleep off my eyes. Rika told me to  
stand up, as the plan had now been finalized and was going to be told. Lucas  
and Syaoran sat in the middle of the floor. They both looked very tired and  
so did Rika.  
  
"ready Sakura?" Syaoran asked.  
  
I nodded. We then Indian-sitted on the floor.  
  
"okay. The plan goes like this: we'll all enter the mansion grounds via the  
hidden door on the western side of the gardens. Lucas said that an invisibility  
spell screens the door if he enters the password so we'll be invisible the rest  
of the way. Rika will then lead us to the secret entrance by the fountain and  
then we'll be coming out to a room at the second floor." Syaoran looked at each  
and every one of us and we nodded in reply. "let's say that by that time, the  
invisibility spell will be gone so we'll sneak up to the room next to it where  
there will be a secret passage to Tomoyo's room."  
  
"I see... but what do we do then?" I asked.  
  
"we'll fight. Those guys from the order don't actually ask explanations you  
know." Syaoran said, standing up. "in the meantime, let's get some shut-eye."  
  
Rika and Lucas nodded in agreement. We were then instructed that Rika and I  
sleep on the bed while the two men sleep on the floor. Rika agreed with me to  
give them the pillows since we were already sleeping on a matress. It was hard  
to force them but they agreed anyway.  
  
  
We were awakened by Syaoran early in the morning. Looking outside the window,  
the sky was still dark, showing no signs of the sun.  
  
"wake up! it'll be better if we do our plan now." he whispered in my ear.  
  
I groaned and forced myself to rise from the softness of the bed. Wiping my  
eyes, I noticed that there were black garments on the table. "Syaoran, what are  
those?" I ponted at the table.  
  
Syaoran looked back then said, "those are shadow suits. It works best at night,  
but we'll have to manage with the early morning."  
  
"vat zen? vat vill ve do vith zose? vear zem?" Rika asked in a sleepy tone.  
  
"exactly. That's why you have to wake up." Syaoran replied.  
  
The next moment after Syaoran had awakened Lucas, he left Rika and I inside the  
room to change into our suits. The garment was very light and elastic. It clung  
to our skin the moment we wore it. It was very fitting and it showed well our  
curves.  
  
"you are so sexzy madam!" Rika giggled.  
  
I blushed. "n-not really..."  
  
After that, we wore our old dress atop the shadow suits. I knocked on the door  
thrice to signal that we were done. Syaoran entered and it was now our time to  
wait outside. After a few moments, a knock came to the door and we were allowed  
inside. Syaoran and Lucas were wearing their suits with a grey-colored cloak on  
top. Then he bid us to remove our clothes. Both of us blushed and in reply,  
Syaoran looked away(even though we were wearing our suits) and made Lucas look  
away and then he handed us our cloaks. Rika and I hurriedly stipped out of the  
dresses and put on the cloaks.  
  
"we're ready now." we both said.  
  
Syaoran turned around and nodded. "let's go."  
  
  
The dakness in the sky was already slowly lifting up when we reached the back  
door. It was very well-disguised and unrecognizable. The West wall of Tomoyo's  
home had drawings on them, beautiful drawings. When we reached the north end,  
there was a beautiful drawing of a door. I didn't know that THAT was the door  
until Lucas whispered something to it and it swung open towards us. Ivy covered  
the entrance. Syaoran was going to hack it off when Lucas spoke up.  
  
"don't yer hakin' and slashin' will do ye no good! that there is the curtain of  
invisibility that I'm talkin' 'bout. The mistress purposedly disguised it was ivy  
vines." he nodded, then passed though the vines like it didn't exist.  
  
We then followed his example. I was the last to enter and when I did, I felt like  
ice-cold water was being poured on me and the next moment, everything was normal  
again.  
  
After we all passed and Lucas closed the door again, Rika took the lead and led  
us into the heart of the garden where the fountain was.   
  
"vi careful. Ze garden iz encanted to look like a lavirynth to a stranger's eyes.  
you'll get lost if you lozt contact with ve." Rika warned us before moving on. We  
all nodded and followed her carefully.  
  
Indeed, it did looked like a labyrinth - even if it was only to us. There were  
lots of twists and turns here and there. When you looked up, the hedges seem to  
grow up to twenty feet into the air. In short, it was maddening. I fell twice of  
dizziness and it became Syaoran's constant job to catch me each time I fell. I think  
I was already on the brink of loosing my sanity when we reached the fountain.  
  
It was worth it.  
  
The fountan was very magnificent and very tall. The topmost part had a statuette  
of a woman sitting on a cloud amd the water showered via the cloud and made it  
look like it was raining on a little floating island, whose rivers fell off the  
cliff and down into a pool with mermaid and merman statuettes that were playing.  
The water in the pool then cascaded into another pool that was held there by a   
very thick pillar that was five feet high. The water that pored off from that pool  
then fell on to the last pool(that was just above the ground) in an amazing array  
of patterns(like some forming a horse, a butterfly, etc..) that changed every  
second.  
  
"WOW! this is beautiful!" I said, Syaoran hushed me.  
  
"ves it iz.... very beautiful vut I vish zat you'll zee zis in a divrent time."  
Rika said, "lord Syaoran, ze door iz on ze pillar. Just say voomaflizsh 'an it  
vill open. Ve'll ve going now." with that, Rika and Lucas left, heading eastward.  
  
"where are they going?" I asked.  
  
Syaoran stepped into the fountain he shivered a little. "to the maid's quarters.  
We'll be doing this alone."  
  
I just stared at him for a while. I wasn't prepared for it.  
  
Then, I heard him say, "Voomaflizsh" and waited. But then nothing happened.  
"what the..."  
  
"wait. I think you got something wrong." I told him  
  
"what's wrong 'bout it? I said what Rika told me to."  
  
"no...Rika has a Wilfreedan accent. Let me do it." Syaoran stepped away and I  
stepped into the water and shivered. It was very cold. "woomaflitch." I said.  
There was a gurgling sound then the water stopped falling. The pillar suddenly  
had a hole on it and it was clearly shown that it was hollow.  
  
"wow..." Syaoran said, "I wonder what would have happened to me if you weren't  
here.."  
  
"probably lost in the labyrinth." I said, looking at the overgrown hedges then  
I cringed at my hateful memory of it. "shall we?"  
  
Syaoran nodded then looked in the tunnel. "I wonder how this thing goes."  
  
"you just enter it, I guess." I said, peeping in it.  
  
"okay. Here goes nothing." he said, then stepped into the hole. The moment he  
did that, he disappeared.  
  
A hollow formed in my stomach. "oh boy...." I murmured. Then, gathering up all  
my courange, I stepped in. I suddenly felt an upward pulling sensation and a  
feeling of moving then...poof! the darkness of the labyrinth was gone.  
  
  
END 


	20. Chapter 20

disclaimer: I do not own and will never own Card Captor Sakura (though I wish I did)  
it is owned by CLAMP. This author is merely borrowing so please don't sue me!!!^_^;  
  
  
  
Fated Circle: Four Sacred Treasures of Earth  
  
  
~Part 4   
Seiryuu: The Mirror of Mystery  
Chapter 20  
  
  
I reappeared behind Syaoran. He was breathing heavily and before him, a  
whole section of the wall was gone with burnt edges and just in front of  
him, was what seemed to be a body of a monster(or whatever it was) burned  
beyond recognition. I touched him lightly on his shoulder with my right hand  
and he abruptly caught my arm and jerked me in front of him and raised his  
sword for a slash.  
  
I stared into his eyes, fightened. It was glowing white again. I closed my  
eyes and turned away. Suddenly, the steel grip on my wrist loosened.  
  
"I- I'm s-sorry" he stammered. I looked at him his eyes were amber in color  
again and was full of concern. "d-did I h-hurt you?"  
  
I embraced him tightly and he replied by embracing me just as tight. "No...  
you didn't... don't worry. Though my shoulder hurts from the sudden pull that  
you did."  
  
He slowly loosened and checked my right shoulder. He poked it here and there  
then.. "OUCH! that hurt!"  
  
"here?" he poked at the spot behind my shoulder.  
  
"yeah! yeah...." I said.  
  
He placed his palm on it and I felt suddenly warm and fuzzy all over. In a  
moment, the feeling was gone and so was the pain. "y-you healed me!" I looked  
at him in surprise.  
  
He smiled. "yeah. Now, we better get going or we'll get caught. The commotion  
wasn't intended, you know."  
  
"I think that no hiding isss nesssessssary." a venomous voice said.  
  
Both of us looked in front of us and Syaoran defensively put himself in front  
of me. Just beyond the hole in the wall, was a person in a black robe - the hood  
covering most of the face. Around him was the insignia of The Order, just as  
Syaoran had described it: a skull with snake heads comeing out of the eyesockets  
and surrounded by lightning.  
  
The hodded figure raised a hand and I froze. I don't know about Syaoran but I  
could see from the corner of my eye that by the look on his face that he was  
frozen too.  
  
We were caught.  
  
  
I don't remember anything that happened next but all I know is that I woke up  
with an aching head, a blindfold over my eyes and a gag in my mouth. I choked  
by the dry taste of the cloth in my mouth and coughed a little.  
  
"Sakura are you okay??" Eriol's familiar voice ringed in my ears.  
  
I tired to answer but of course, all that came is muffled words.  
  
"un-gag her!" Syaoran's strong voice shouted out.  
  
"why ssshould I??" the venomous voice replied. Then suddenly, I felt rough,  
slender fingers touch my face. It caressed me. All the hairs on my skin stood  
on ends. The fingers then caressed my right arm. I wanted to push the hand  
away but then I noticed that my hands were tied behind me and my ankles were  
tied up as well.  
  
"LET GO!!!" Syaoran's voice shouted anger in every letter.  
  
"Let go, Viper." a deep, commanding voice suddenly said. The hand on my skin  
vanished. "So... this is the Lady Sakura you wife?" it said again. Then I heard  
steps coming closer towards me. A gloved fingers wrapped itself gently around  
my chin. I jerked away. "Fiesty little thing isn't she?"  
  
"Don't you dare hurt her!" Eriol told the voice.  
  
"oh!" the voice replied with sarcasm, "I'm scared!! with your eyes blindfolded  
and your feet and ankles chained to the wall, you're gonna do me no good!!" then  
he laughed. His laughter was loud and filled the whole room with hate. "and what  
about you, Lady Tomoyo?" he asked.  
  
I listened hard for her reply, hoping that she's okay.  
  
There came a muffled reply. Then the voice became clearer. "sleep well and dream  
hard.." said a voice, it was musical and very enticing. I almost fell asleep  
hadn't it been for a loud 'SLAP!' that followed.  
  
"Tomoyo!" Eriol shouted.  
  
"are you okay?" Syaoran asked.  
  
A muffled reply again.  
  
I heard a few steps walking far from me and stop. "enchantress, enchantress...  
don't do that to one in The Order. It won't work." the deep voice spoke again.  
  
"It will if you hard heads will listen long enough!" Syaoran's mocking voice  
said, "you're no sorcerer!"  
  
There was a sound of a punch and a sound of something hitting concrete. I knew  
at once that whoever the owner of the voice was had punched Syaorana and his head  
had hit the wall. I shouted a muffled "Syaoran!"  
  
"I-I'm alright Sakura.." came a weak reply.  
  
Sound of steps walked closer to me. A gloved hand suddenly held my face painfully.  
  
I winced.  
  
The blindfold was removed from my eyes with s sudden pull that ripped the cloth  
apart and the hand forced me to look at someone. "Look at your pathetic husband's  
face!" it said.  
  
Syaoran he was chained to the wall hands and feet apart and he had his head down  
and a cut above his left eye. He was blindfolded and on his right cheek was swollen.  
Bloodstain was to be found on the left corner of his lips. I moved my eye beside  
him and there was Eriol. Blindfolded as well. He looked no better than Syaoran as  
he had a cut on his left cheek and above his right eye blood was on the right corner  
of his lips. To my upper left hung Tomoyo. She was chained to the wall, a few hands  
off the floor. She was blindfolded and gagged and she had a fresh red mark of a big  
hand on her left cheek and her hair hung loosely about her.  
  
That was all I could bear to see. I closed my eyes again and when I opened them,  
all was dark. The gloved hand let go of my face and the deep voice said, "bindfold  
her!"  
  
I heard shuffling steps towards me and felt the cloth pressed against my eyelids.  
It was tied not too tight.  
  
"We'll leave them here for a while. Viper! guard them and make sure that none  
talk!"  
  
"yesss bosss" the venomous voice replied. There was the sound of steps moving  
away, and an opening and closing of a door.  
  
There was silence. *I wonder what happened to Rika and Lucas* I thought.  
  
There was a sudden piercing scream of a woman in the air.  
  
  
to be continued 


	21. Chapter 21

disclaimer: I do not own and will never own Card Captor Sakura (though I wish I did)  
it is owned by CLAMP. This author is merely borrowing so please don't sue me!!!^_^;  
  
n/a: Hello! Here's another chapter. I hope you're liking it so far..*the sound of flesh  
hittling flesh is heard "of course they do you dolt!" someone says* ...duhh.. I'd like  
do shay dank you bery mhuch...*gently rubs punched cheek*... Dank You!!! Dank You!!!  
  
  
  
Fated Circle: Four Sacred Treasures of Earth  
  
  
~Part 4   
Seiryuu: The Mirror of Mystery  
Chapter 21  
  
They day went on slowly. We were fed with, surprisingly, good food and not  
gory ones like in the slave dungeons back in Romealy. Nothing much happened.  
Sometimes someone enters and I hear a voice of a woman, deep with an accent,  
talking to the veomous voiced one, which was our guard. I must say that I fell  
asleep a couple of times and I only woke up to a sudden, sharp pain on my  
shoulders. My hands were tied to my back for too long. Then I thought about  
how Tomoyo and the others were faring. Especially Tomoyo - she was basically  
hanging on to the wall. He wrists must be severely injured.  
  
The morning turned to afternoon then to evening, as I could tell by the   
darkness in the room(as they did not bother to turn on the lights). Still,  
nothing happened. But I was glad though, it was much better than having  
something happen which is not actually good. I was still awake. My shoulder  
hurt too much.  
  
suddenly, I heard a shuffling noise coming closer to me. Then, rough and  
slender fingers was clamped on my mouth. Something happened. I tried to  
shout or to make any noise at all but my voice was stuck in my throat. Then  
I felt the rough fingers caressing my skin. The hairs all over my body  
stood on its ends.  
  
"hmm... ssso, you're very nervousss... goosssebumpsss?" the venomous voice  
said. I'd recognize it anywhere.  
  
I squirmed under his touch.  
  
"don't worry thisss won't hurt..." it said, then I felt my skirt slowly pulled  
up.  
  
My heart pounded against my chest. *this is not good...this is not good...*  
I thought nervously. I still felt my skirt over my knees but I knew that if  
I don't do something fast, I was dead - though I wish I'd really be dead after  
this. I felt his finges trailing up and down on the lower part of my legs.  
I lifted my legs and pounded it on the floor to remove his fingers on me.  
  
"sssshh.... keep quiet!" he told me in a shouting whisper.  
  
'that's it!' a voice inside my head said.  
  
*that's what?* I asked.  
  
'pound your feet on the floor dummy! that'd make enough noise to wake the  
others up.'  
  
*okay..* I replied. Slowly, I lefted my feet once again and pounded it -  
only stronger than the last time.  
  
"sssshh!" he said again, trying to hold my feet down.  
  
I fought against the force of his arm and pounded again.  
  
"Sakura?" came Syaoran's voice. "what's wrong?"  
  
The man - or if it WAS a man - beside me kept quiet.  
  
There came a muffled voice. I knew that it was Tomoyo, as she was gagged like  
me.  
  
"Tomoyo says that someone is near Sakura.... wait..." Eriol's voice said,  
pausing for a while, "It's that Viper guy! I could feel his aura!"  
  
"what are you doing there???" Syaoran said, growling.  
  
"doing where??" he asked innocently.  
  
"He hid his aura again!" Eriol exclaimed.  
  
"Darn it! DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH SAKURA YOU HEAR? DON'T DARE TOUCH HER WITH YOUR  
SPINY FINGERS!!!" Syaoran shouted.  
  
I heard shuffling steps again, moving away from me. "and what if I do?"   
  
"I'LL DEFINATELY KILL YOU!!!!"  
  
Then suddenly, the door pounded open and lights were turned on. My eyes closed  
tighter at the light that was able to penetrate the cloth and my eye lids.  
  
"what are you doing Viper?" the deep, accented voice of a woman said.  
  
"nothing."  
  
"LIAR!" Syaoran shouted. Then an "oof" was heard.  
  
There was a brief moment of silence.  
  
"not doing anything?" the woman said again. "then why is her skirt hiked up?"  
  
"WHAT????" Syaoran, Eriol and Tomoyo's muffled voice, said at the same time.  
(though of course I wasn't sure of that was what Tomoyo really said)  
  
"SILENCE!!!" the woman demanded. "So, you're getting on the easier victim huh?  
you knew that Tomoyo'd mind-massacre you if you did THAT to her." I heard a few  
steps coming closer to me I felt my skirt gently pulled down. Then I felt a hand  
on my head. "you can speak now." she told me.  
  
"are you alright Sakura?" Syaoran immediately asked.  
  
"I'm fine." I said in my muffled voice.  
  
"you're quite lucky dearie." the woman told me, "you weren't touched....but I  
guess YOU KNOW that?" she seemed to insult me like I was some prostitute or  
something. "but, you're not staying here any longer as the boss will take you  
somewhere else."  
  
"where?" Syaoran asked.  
  
"ooohh.... little princey wants to know..." she said in a mocking tone, "too  
bad cause I won't tell you!" steps yet again. "Viper! you go down and I'll  
let my minions guard this place. go on!"  
  
There was a shuffling and more decent steps walking away. The door slammed  
shut and locked from the outside.  
  
"Sakura, don't move. Remember the thing that attacked you before? that's the  
same thing in this room now." Syaoran told me.  
  
A picture of his hideous misshapen cat-human face formed in my head. I cringed  
at the thought. They rest of the night went on and I finally was able to sleep.  
  
  
to be continued 


	22. Chapter 22

disclaimer: I do not own and will never own Card Captor Sakura (though I wish I did)  
it is owned by CLAMP. This author is merely borrowing so please don't sue me!!!^_^;  
  
  
  
Fated Circle: Four Sacred Treasures of Earth  
  
  
~Part 4   
Seiryuu: The Mirror of Mystery  
Chapter 22  
  
The next day, I woke up as if I had been hit by a train. The surroundings  
were swirling and so did the spots before my eyes. It was a very bright  
room.  
  
"is this heaven?" I asked to no one.  
  
"no, think of it as hell." someone answered me.  
  
I twirled around to see who it was. That's when I noticed that I was un-gaged,  
unblinded and untied. Then more spots appeared. I closed my eyes and slowly  
opened them to adjust to the light. That was not possible since when I saw a tall,  
forbidding figure, my eyes suddenly opened up in surprise. Then the spots swirled  
more violently.  
  
"easy my dear. Any quick actions done in this plane will send spots dancing  
before your eyes." the figure said. He was cloaked in black that stood well out  
in the white surroundings.  
  
With my hands on my eyes, I answered sacrastically, "thanks for the warning"  
Slowly, I put my hand down - careful not to move to quickly. "where am I?"  
  
I could feel his face beneath his cowl smile at me. "In my plane, your body  
is still gaged and everything back in reality, only our minds are here."  
  
"why did you bring me here?" I asked. Evil radiated from him and it made my  
fists clench immediately.  
  
The figure stepped backwards and gracefully sweeped his right arm to bow at  
me. "I have called you forth to offer you something..." he paused. I didn't  
answer. "...to join The Order. Let me tell you why..." he continued, answering  
my would-be questions, "..I can sense magic within you, Princess. You are born  
with it. It will be such a great honor that you join us."  
  
I kept silent. *I have magic?* I thought. "how do you know of this?"  
  
"one who weilds it can also sense it."  
  
"how can you be so sure?" I asked. He didn't know about the pendant and I knew  
that the pendant had magic.  
  
The cowled head nodded. "a curious one indeed. I cannot tell you that."  
  
*curious one indeed?* I echoed in my thoughts, *since when did this person  
see me being curious actually?*   
  
"what will it be?" he asked again, his voice more impatient.  
  
I looked inside the cowl, not knowing what I was looking at, and replied,  
"sorry to disappoint you, but I will not."  
  
"farewell then."  
  
I stepped back a bit in surprise. "farewell...?"  
  
"one of magic like yours cannot live if not for The Order. If The Order you  
shan't follow, we cannot allow you to follow any other." he told me, then  
raised one of his flowy sleeves. The long, black cloth covered his arm and hands  
completely. A bright blue ball glowed from the end of his covered hand and I just  
closed my eyes.  
  
  
*BOOM*  
  
The floors beneath me shook like there was an earthquake.  
  
"Sakura! Sakura!" a familiar, melodious voice called me.  
  
I opened my eyes to see Tomoyo shaking me. "w-what happened?"  
  
"Syaoran's shadow had gotten the best of him again. He's going berserk but  
we're all free because of that." she told me.  
  
"Syaoran's shadow?"  
  
Tomoyo glanced to her right(where the now broken door was located) and looked  
back at me. "no time to explain. We've got to help him!"  
  
Tomoyo helped me stand up and we both ran out of the room. A trail of destruction  
led to our left. Tomoyo nodded and we both followed the trail, Tomoyo on the lead,  
cautiously, just in case some enemy have managed to escape Syaoran in his "madness".  
  
"where's Eriol?" I asked, looking directly before me.  
  
"he's followed Syaoran a bit earlier."  
  
"what about that accented woman...she was the one guarding us, right?"  
  
Tomoyo kept silent and did not reply.  
  
"...Tomoyo?"  
  
"burnt to an oblivion crisp. Syaoran's outburst was so sudden, she wasn't able  
to defend herself." she said sadly, "her name was Yanagisawa Naoko. She used  
to be a good witch, I knew her you see, before the Dark Lord Orochi overpowered  
her will and bent it to serve him."  
  
I remembered my latest exprience *were they trying to bent my will as well?* I  
thought. Felt like the dots were swirling before my eyes again.  
  
The trail of destruction continued down the hall, leaving only wrecked walls  
and carpets, broken vases, roasted bodies or clean cuts of bodies scattered  
everywhere. I couldn't believe that Syaoran was the cause of all this. We followed  
until a body suddenly shot through the left wall and landed on the opposite wall.  
  
"Eriol!" Tomoyo said in dismay.  
  
Eriol's blue tunic was gone now, and so was his white shirt. There was a  
black burnt circle in the middle of his chest. He moaned in pain.  
  
"don't worry... I'll heal you." Tomoyo told him. At once she sang. Her voice  
full and flowing, sweet and relaxing. I was mezmerized by the play of notes  
and was getting sleepy and calm when a bloody shriek caught my attention.  
  
I looked into the hole on the wall where Eriol had just come from and was  
scared, shocked and awed at the same time. There was Syaoran, standing menacingly  
and he had just slashed a black robed figure vertically into two halves. All  
around him, cloaked bodies were charred to the bone, had a missing head or  
limb or sliced in half, horizontally and vertically.   
  
*is that really Syaoran?* I asked myself. I knew he was good in battles, but I  
never thought he could do such massacre.  
  
"Syaoran is cursed, Sakura." she told me from behind. I looked at her and saw  
that Eriol was sleeping peacefully she was staring in sympathy at Syaoran, who  
was still hacking and slashing about, his back facing us. "By his own mother."  
  
I gasped in surprise. "how could a mother do such a horrid thing?" I asked  
her.  
  
She looked down. "His mother was a seer that my parents both knew. She saw of  
what would happen to her son and she cursed him," she paused and sighed, "she  
said thus:  
  
I curse thee, my child,  
To live a life of twos:  
You by day and a shadow at night.  
All who dare stop you might live,  
But those who dare the shadow shall not.  
Only with the light shall the shadow fade,  
Only when the day that you are free.  
  
she said those words and cursed him." sadness was in every letter of her words.  
"but his shadow did not appear at night. His shadow was cunning and chose not to  
and chose instead to come out when he is in less control of himself, like when  
one is angry or mad." she sighed again, "I wish I could help him, but I cannot.  
the curse shall end when it says."  
  
"only with the light shall the shadow fade, only when the day that you are free."  
I muttered under my breath. *I wonder what that means...*  
  
Suddenly, the walls and floors shook once more. Looking back in the hole, I  
saw Syaoran pushed to the wall behind him by a blue ball that came from my left  
(beyond the hole, of course) and it looked familiar in some way. Syaoran slumped  
to the ground as the blue ball passed though him like he was water.  
  
I was to walk closer when someone in black robes suddenly appeared before him.  
"you think you can challenge me? Dear Prince, I know that you are the dark  
master's son but you still have to learn a lot. No one can challenge me and  
live dear prince!" he said, his voice getting more menacing by the minute, "my  
members might have fallen from your sword, but not Sicercon!" his statement  
ended with a harsh laughter and suddenly, his cowl looked at me.  
  
The blackness under his cowl was so deep that one would think that there was  
no head. Then, two red sparks appeared within the cowl, side by side..... and  
blinked.  
  
I froze on the spot.  
  
  
to be continued 


	23. Chapter 23

disclaimer: I do not own and will never own Card Captor Sakura (though I wish I did)  
it is owned by CLAMP. This author is merely borrowing so please don't sue me!!!^_^;  
  
a/n: uh... sorry. Really didn't mean to put all those cliffhangers...*snickers*(jk)  
...please be patient with me...I just couldn't help it...its like... it just comes  
naturally...~_~  
  
  
Fated Circle: Four Sacred Treasures of Earth  
  
  
~Part 4   
Seiryuu: The Mirror of Mystery  
Chapter 23  
  
The glowing red eyes stared at me and froze me.  
  
"ahh..." It said, "Princess... have you changed your mind?"  
  
I gathered all my courage and replied, "never."  
  
He then left Syaoran, who lay sprawling against the wall, and slowly walked  
over to me. I then backed away from him, step by step and careful not to fall.  
I looked at Tomoyo and to my surprise, she was just staring blankly into  
space.  
  
"no one will help you princess... no one.." he told me.   
  
I continued to back away, not daring to turn my back on him because I was  
afraid that he might suddenly spring on me. It was better that I saw him.  
But then, I suddenly stopped in my tracks. I heard someone call my name. I  
was sure of it... but it proved to be my fatal mistake. He suddenly jumped  
up and I speedily stepped back in response. Clumsily fell on my back and the  
impact on the floor hurt really bad. I was going to stand up when he landed  
atop me, his sleeve-covered hand locking my wrist in place with an iron grip.  
  
"you can't escape me..."  
  
My mind screamed at me and my voice was behind a knot in my throat. *someone  
help me!!* my mind screamed. I kicked at his lower part but then I only kicked  
his robes. It was like he was flesh and air at the same time.  
  
He laughed. I felt his warm breath over my face. I didn't dare breathe it in.  
"you can't hurt me like that..."  
  
I closed my eyes momentarily and suddenly, the iron grip disappeared. I   
opened my eyes and he was no longer atop me. I slowly propped myself on my  
elbows and I saw him being thrown to the wall. I stood up and saw clearly   
that SOMETHING had pushed him.  
  
And that something was floating before me.  
  
She was colored yellowish with dabs of green here and there. Her face was that  
of a woman and eyes were pale yellow in color. She had fairy wings that sprouted  
from her back that ended with a tuft of what looked like fur. On her forehead  
was a strange symbol that I couldn't describe. She had long and slender fingers  
and her body, oddly, had no feet, instead, it ended with something like a tail  
but I couldn't completely describe or know what it was. Air swirled about her.  
She looked at me and suddenly disappeared.  
  
That's when I noticed that Tomoyo was already standing up and facing him, and  
she helf her medallion aloft. There was no mistaking the silver sparkle in her  
right hand. Suddenly, the medallion seemed to have grown semicircle shaped wings  
and it glowed with a bright light.  
  
"demon!" she shouted, her voice powerful and commanding, "Sacred Mirror of  
Seiryuu! dispell the illusion that is Sicercon!!!"  
  
All at once, his body glowed and he shreiked in pain. There was a bright  
flash and he was all gone. Tomoyo then faced me, her eyes obviously tired.  
In her hand, there was a mirror with a semicircle on each side with the very  
tip of the arc attached to the left and right side of the circle. The two  
arcs closed and covered the mirror. That's when I noticed that it was her  
medallion.  
  
"It's over now..." she said in a husky voice, and she fell to the ground.  
  
I immediately ran to her side.  
  
  
to be continued 


	24. Nadezha: Flight to Hope : Part 5 Chapte...

disclaimer: I do not own and will never own Card Captor Sakura (though I wish I did)  
it is owned by CLAMP. This author is merely borrowing so please don't sue me!!!^_^;  
  
  
  
Fated Circle: Four Sacred Treasures of Earth  
  
  
~Part 5  
Nadezha: Flight to Hope  
Chapter 24  
  
A few weeks after the incident, the house was up and running again. Parts  
of the house was rebuilt again, under the supervision of Eriol, since Tomoyo  
was still recovering of her use of the mirror. She told me that it required  
great skill, practice and strength to weild it.  
  
Syaoran, however was not easily mended. He avoided me most of the time, for  
some unknown reason. He'd keep silent whenever I'm around and only spoke when  
he was asked something that required specific answers and just nodded or shook  
his head whenever the questions required only the answer of "yes" or "no"  
  
It was a warm and sunny day today. I wore a white cotton, long-sleeved shirt  
with a sleeveless blue dress on top and plain black shoes(you can say that it  
was a regular outfit). I was in the gardens, having Tomoyo remove the illusion  
spell that made it look like a labyrinth, and basked in its beauty while I  
sat beside the fountain.  
  
"Sakura, what are you doing here?" a lovely and light melodious voice asked.  
  
I turned to the speaker, which was Tomoyo, and answered, "just basking here,  
I guess. Why?"  
  
"I thought that Syaoran had asked you out." she answered.  
  
"Syaoran?" I said, a hint of sadness in my voice, "...he...he doesn't talk  
to me much theese days."  
  
Tomoyo walked closer and sat beside me, her slender hands patting my back.  
"don't worry about him, his facade will go away. He misses you a lot you  
know.... he's just worried a bit."  
  
"worried? why?"  
  
"remember his shadow? he says it hasn't subsided yet. He's scared of hurting  
you." she told me, looking away.  
  
I looked away myself and recalled my other close-calls. *How horrible this  
shadow is!* I thought, *I swear that I'll find a way to end that.*  
  
I felt Tomoyo stand up. I looked at her. Still as beautiful as ever. She  
wore a scarlet turtle-necked, long-sleeved dress with a long and flowing  
skirt. It was plain with no designs and she wore no other accessory except  
her medallion, a pair or round, gold earrings and a gold belt that hung  
loosely around her waist.  
  
She looked back at me and offered her hand. "let's go. Eriol told me that  
Syaoran is going to hold a meeting."  
  
"Eriol told you?" I said in a questioning tone, while I took her hand.  
  
"via magic." she simply explained.  
  
We walked silently back into the mansion and into the large living room.  
There was a fireplace to the west wall, with a sofa in front of it and a  
pair of comfy couches on each side. To the right, there was a grand piano  
on which Tomoyo usually played and sung. There were 3 chairs around it for  
any people who wanted to listen. There were two large windows to the north  
wall and one on the east wall covered by elegantly designed maroon curtains  
that complemented the pale yellow walls.  
  
Inside, Syaoran and Eriol sat on both couches and we took the sofa.  
  
"Eriol and I have agreed to the plan we are about to discuss with you."  
Syaoran said. He looked at Eriol, who gave a nod, then continued, "we are  
to go to Nadezha via air and search there for the last of our company."  
  
"last of our company?" I asked.  
  
"last of the Chosen Ones, Sakura," Tomoyo told me, "the Chosen of the  
Suzaku."  
  
I nodded my head and Syaoran continued, "as you all know, except for  
Sakura, the last Chosen is hidden and is not revealing his or her aura  
to us. It could be that he or she is in hiding and placing protective  
charms around himself or is not aware of his powers."  
  
"It will be hard, we know," Eriol suddenly said, "since Nadezha is a  
large continent... but we have to manage. To stay here may mean another  
attack from the Dark Lord so we have no choice but to keep moving. Also,  
we'll be going there to enhance Sakura's latent powers." he looked at me.  
  
I replied his look with a confused look. "latent powers?"  
  
"Sakura," Syaoran started, "remember that pendant I gave you? only ones  
with magic in their blood can use the power of the pendant. Eriol told  
me that he saw you use it twice."  
  
"you mean those fairies that I saw?" I asked.  
  
Syaoran nodded. "actually, the true powers of that pendant are still  
unknown to me. You remember our meeting in the library?" I nodded, "I  
was searching information about that pendant but foud nothing."  
  
"what about that book you borrowed?"  
  
"that?...." he paused and looked away as if considering something. "that  
will be for later. Much, much later."  
  
I just nodded. I knew better than to pursue the subject to I let it drop.  
"What sort of transportation will we use going there?" I asked, changing  
the topic.  
  
"well... Syaoran and I thought it over many times and we ended up with  
one thing..." Eriol said.  
  
"Averins?" Tomoyo asked.  
  
Both Syaoran and Eriol nodded.  
  
"what are Averins?" I asked.  
  
"Averins are a type of large Eagles that have been trained and tamed for  
transport purposes. They fly swiftly and can fly for four days without  
rest." Syaoran explained, "two people can ride on one Averin at the same  
time. In this case, Eriol and Tomoyo will ride Thunderstorm - his mount,  
and you and I will ride on Shadowbane."  
  
"when do we leave?" Tomoyo asked.  
  
"we're hoping tomorrow." Eriol said.  
  
"tomorrow???" I said, "its hardly been a week since the construction  
stopped! we haven't rested well enough for long travel!"  
  
"well Sakura," Tomoyo said, putting a hand on my shoulder, "sorry to  
pop your bubble but I agree with them. The sooner the better."  
  
I gave up. Three against one wasn't a fair battle. And all of them knew  
more about the dangers that we faced than I did. "Okay. I guess we'll leave  
pretty early?"  
  
"you catch on pretty quick!" Eriol told me with a wink.  
  
I smiled.  
  
"okay. Tomorrow then. Let's pack up and rest." Syaoran simply said and  
all of us started to leave. Tomoyo and Eriol had just passed the door  
when Syaoran put a hand on my shoulder. I turned to face him and looked  
straight into his amber eyes. "I missed you." he said.  
  
"me too." I replied. Suddenly, before I knew it, we were locked in a  
tight embrace. I felt safe and secure in his arms. Slowly, he broke the  
embrace and looked deep into my eyes. He put his hands on the sides of  
my face and then he kissed me on my lips. I kissed him back.  
  
I could guess that it lasted only a few seconds or so but it felt like  
eternity.  
  
"shall we pack?" he asked, leading me toward the door with my arm interlocked  
with his.  
  
"yes... but, will you promise me something?" I said, stopping right before  
the door.  
  
He looked at me and smiled. "what is it?"  
  
"don't leave me again okay?"  
  
He kissed me lightly on my lips and said, "I promise."  
  
  
to be continued 


	25. Chapter 25

disclaimer: I do not own and will never own Card Captor Sakura (though I wish I did)  
it is owned by CLAMP. This author is merely borrowing so please don't sue me!!!^_^;  
  
a/n: sorry it took so long.... we didn't have internet connection at that time..  
sorry again.....-_-  
  
  
Fated Circle: Four Sacred Treasures of Earth  
  
  
~Part 5  
Nadezha: Flight to Hope  
Chapter 25  
  
The moment after we packed up, Syaoran and Eriol took Tomoyo and I to the  
Averin-stables. I was imagining an ordinary stable with all the hay and all  
but I was wrong about everything.   
  
When we got to the Averin-stables, everything was HUGE! Each bird housing  
was as like a barn house with doors as tall and as wide as the front wall,  
though there was an average-sized door for poeple to go through. There was  
about twelve housings arranged in six rows.  
  
As we walked in, an old man who was a few inches shorter than me, with a  
thick, short white beard and bushy eyebrows wearing a small brown, flat hat,  
a pale yellow shirt, brown pants held by suspenders approached us.  
  
"ah! I see yer here to fetch yer Averin eh, Master Li?" he greeted, "OH!  
and Master Eriol and Lady Tomoyo is here...hmm.." he then looked at me.  
  
"Hawk, I'd like you to meet Sakura, my wife. Sakura, this is Hawk, flight  
master and Averin-keeper extrordinaire!" Syaoran said.  
  
"ye flatter me too much master Li!" he said and bowed politely to me. "nice  
to meet the master's pretty lady."   
  
"nice to mee you too." I replied.  
  
"Hawk, Eriol and I are going to fetch out our Averins. We're flying out  
somewhere." he said.  
  
The old man nodded. "I see...but ye better watch out. Heard that them  
varments are patrollin' the skies these days. Seen one of 'em meself...  
dastardly creatures ridin on them giant bats." he said with undisguised  
venom in his voice.  
  
"thanks for the warning Hawk. You helped us a lot." Eriol said, "um...  
I think that Syaoran and I will just get our Averins and fly outta here."  
  
"go ahead, master Eriol, yer critters are in their usual housin." Hawk  
told him before moving away.  
  
Syaoran faced Tomoyo and I and said, "wait here. We'll just fetch you."  
  
We both nodded and waited.  
  
  
"I'm going to zap those two when I see them!" Tomoyo stormed, "making  
two ladies wait under the hot sun...how un-gentlemanly of them!!"  
  
I suppressed a giggle. Though I agreed with her, her way of expressing  
anger made me laugh. Walking around and shouting in the air, making trees  
shake a bit. "take it easy, Tomoyo, you might destroy this whole place!"  
  
"I might if they don't appear!" she told me.  
  
Just then, something gave a loud cry above us and I saw two small shados  
circling the sky. Slowly, the shadows lowered themselves and landed before  
us. To my right, a dark blue bird - the largest I've ever seen - landed  
with Eriol on its back. To my right a pure white one landed. It was so white  
that I had to squinted at the sight of it. *shadowbane huh?* I thought, *so  
appropriately named.*  
  
"sorry if it took us so long. Thunderstorm and Shadowbane had too much  
energy locked up and we had to fly a little to ease them out." Eriol said  
as he jumped off Thunderstorm.  
  
"REALLY! all you had to do was tell us and we'd find some shade to hide  
in you know!" Tomoyo snapped back at him.  
  
"sorry.." he said again.  
  
"we'd better fly off. We saw one of those vermins that Hawk was talking  
about." Syaoran said.  
  
"may I ask where are you going to keep these birds?" Tomoyo asked.  
  
Syaoran and Eriol looked at each other and back at Tomoyo and said, "in  
your garden?"  
  
"WHAT????" Tomoyo said. She was really fuming this time.  
  
I approached her and said, "easy now Tomoyo. We will leave as soon as  
possible. I'm sure it won't be that bad!"  
  
"yeah!" Syaoran followed, "it won't be that bad!"  
  
"alright! but if something happens..." Tomoyo threatened.  
  
Eriol grinned. "we know..we'll be sorry. But for now, shall we ride?"  
  
I smiled in glee as Syaoran led me to his mount and made me pat it as  
it lowered its head. His -as Syaoran told me that it was a he - feathers  
were soft and white...but then I noticed that the colors seemed to shift  
every now and then. Syaoran then said something to Shadowbane that I  
didn't understand and Shadowbane lowered himself a bit further.  
  
"hop on." Syaoran said and he kneeled on one knee and locked his hands  
together - sort of like a step.  
  
"thank you." I said, lifting me skirt a bit started to remove one of  
my shoe.  
  
"what are you doing?" he asked.  
  
"removing my shoe."  
  
He smiled and shook his head a bit. "I know, but why?"  
  
I felt my cheeks heat up a little. "I just feel so guilty dirtying his  
white feathers....and your hands."   
  
"don't worry, I won't mind and so would Shadowbane. Right Shadowbane?"   
Shadowbane gave a "squak" in reply. I giggled and wore my shoe again and  
hopped on, after a little stuggle - I was unfamiliar with riding any type  
of animal. Syaoran then eaily climbed up behind me. "UP!" Syaoran ordered  
and Shadowbane lifted up into the air.  
  
It was exhilarating. At first, my stomach lurched a bit as we took off  
but all of that faded away when we started flying steadily. Thunderstorm  
was already ahead of us and a couple of miles away.  
  
"let's challenge them to a race!" Syaoran said.  
  
"r-race?" I asked nevously, "I don't think that my stomach is up to that."  
  
Syaoran laughed. "fine then. I'll take it easy for you."  
  
Suddenly, Thunderstorm slowed up a and made contact with us. Eriol looked  
serious and so did Tomoyo. I looked at Syaoran and he was serious too. "what's  
wrong?" I asked.  
  
"Wraiths. Tomoyo said that she senses three behind us." he answered.  
  
"Wraiths?"  
  
"They're just as big as an Averin but they're bats. HUGE bats. Father's  
minions." he scowled.  
  
Suddenly, there was a loud screech behind us. I looked back(and so did  
Syaoran and the others, I guess) and saw a huge bat following behind us.  
They were wraiths indeed.  
  
"hold on Sakura, I guess we have to race after all." he told me. My  
stomach knotted in my belly. Syaoran hand-signalled Eriol and he nodded.  
He then steered Thunderstorm to the left at great speeds and disappeared  
into the clouds. Shadowbane went to the right. I closed my drying eyes  
and dared not to open them. I wondered how Syaoran could keep his eyes  
open at such speeds with the wind whipping our faces.  
  
Then there was a screech again. Shadowbane gave a loud cry and sped up  
more.  
  
The race was on.  
  
  
to be continued 


	26. Chapter 26

disclaimer: I do not own and will never own Card Captor Sakura (though I wish I did)  
it is owned by CLAMP. This author is merely borrowing so please don't sue me!!!^_^;  
  
n/a: thanks a lot for all your reviews!!! though I'd like to make replies to all of it,  
I guess it'd just fill up a whole chapter of the story ^_^ but I do want to make replies  
to others(I hope you all won't mind.. ^_^;)  
  
*cherrywolf -- =D THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!!!! ^_^   
*ice-cold -- I know Sakura seems weak still but you have to wait a little bit  
longer for the Sakura - forbidding attitude to appear(I'm still fixing up  
some tradegies and..... *oops! almost spilled it!*)  
*Slice -- Shadowbane - "bane" means a person/thing that causes destruction  
or misery(you know, like, the bane of evil and stuff) and since Shadowbane  
is white, I thought that it would be fitting (you know, white=light and  
light is the bane of shadow...gets ^_^; *I'm not good at this...*)   
  
There! I hope I got you satisfied with my poor answers... *ha-ha* anyway, Thank You  
to all Readers and Reviewers and I hope you'll continue reading!   
  
  
  
Fated Circle: Four Sacred Treasures of Earth  
  
  
~Part 5  
Nadezha: Flight to Hope  
Chapter 26  
  
My stomach tumbled uneasily as Syaoran manuvered Shadowbane in a zig-zag  
pattern. Shielding my eyes from the wind, I opened them and I only saw  
blurs of clouds as they passed by. Then, I don't know what made me do it,  
I looked down. I held my stomach as it threatened to give in.  
  
"anything wrong Sakura?" I heard Syaoran's voice in my ear.  
  
I closed my eyes once again and tried to take my mind off the dizzying  
heights. "I feel sick" I replied.  
  
"I'm going to land you then." he told me.  
  
"land me?"  
  
"yup. Drop you off somewhere. I'll just pick you up later."  
  
"no!!! no no no no! I'll just take this and try to hold it in as much as  
possible...its much better than leaving me somewhere I don't know." I told  
him.  
  
"whatever you say."  
  
Just then, I felt Shadowbane suddenly jerk upwards and I instinctively  
tightened my grip on Syaoran's lower arm. "wh-what happened??"  
  
"a Wraith suddenly appeared in front of us. Two are chasing us now."  
  
"two???"  
  
"don't worry, Shadowbane and I won't lose to thos loosers. So relax."  
  
*RELAX!!!!!!!* my mind shouted, *how could I possibly relax!!!* I took  
a few calming breaths and thought of the old, beautiful Romealy when it  
was still ruled by Princess Chiharu. Suddenly, I thought presented itself  
in my head. *why is it that Syaoran hates the Dark Lord so much?* I thought,  
*If he is really his father, then he must think that the Dark lord's point  
of view is good....and he won't be against him....but, how come?*  
  
Shadowbane went spiraling downwards and it snapped me out of my thoughts  
and jolted my eyes open. My voice was stuck in my throat as I saw the  
ground getting closer and closer..... the tress getting bigger.... still  
falling..... I wanted to scream, but I couldn't. All my internal organs  
seemed out of place and my heart beated so fast that I thought it might  
beat itself right out of my chest. We were really closing in on the ground  
at break-neck speed...and I was paralyzed in my seat. Then just at the  
last moment, Shadowbane sharply turned upwards once again and all my internal  
organs momentarily slipped back into place. Behind us, there was a loud  
"thud" and a very audible cracking of bones. Then another loud "thud"  
  
"w-what...w-wa-s t-t-that?" I asked shakily.  
  
I heard Syaoran's soft chuckle as we slowed down and flew straight....at  
last. "we lost both of the wraiths. They might be big and good for battle,  
but they're not so good in doing stunts like that."  
  
"an-d I-m n-n-not g-good at pulling t-those stunts either..."  
  
"I could see that." he chuckled again.  
  
I dropped the topic. "how do you manuver these Averins? I don't see you  
holding reins or something....we even don't have a saddle!" I asked.  
  
"Usually, Averins have reins and saddles. If you look at Thunderstorm  
more closely, he has a saddle and a rein. But Shadowbane is so good, you  
don't need those things. He won't let you fall, trust me, and he's very  
obedient - and that makes him very easy to guide. He's the best!" he said,  
as he patted Shadowbane. Shadowbane seemed to understand what he said and  
gave - what seemed to be - a pleased answer.  
  
"Don't you think we better go back?" I asked him again.  
  
"yup. Eriol did tell me to just meet back at the mansion."  
  
"Eriol told you?" I said skeptically.  
  
"uhuh."  
  
I looked at him with one raised eyebrow. "and how DID he tell you actually?"  
  
*like this.* he replied, but to my surprise I heard it inside my head.  
  
"what was that?"  
  
*this is called a SENDING. You can do this too, with practice.* he told  
me mentally, *people who ride Averins usually know how to do a sending  
since its easier to talk this way, rather than shouting you voice out*  
  
"don't you need some sort magic...or maybe even psychic?" I asked again.  
  
*no. all you need is practice. Everyone is born with magic, you know, but  
some loose it at birth or at childhood. The same is true with psychic powers*  
  
"alright." I yawned, it was almost evening and the skies were starting to  
color yellow and orange and violet. "let's go home... I...*yawn* I'm sleepy  
and VERY tired."  
  
"just....."  
  
His words were all a blur as I started to drift off to sleep.  
  
  
  
The next day, I woke up with a wet feeling beside me. I looked at it and...  
....blood!!! The whole right side of the bed was soaking wet with blood.  
*what happened?* I thought, *I don't seem wounded...* I rubbed my arms and  
legs and checked my body.  
  
Nothing.  
  
*where did all this blood come from?*  
  
I stepped off the bed and looked around the room. It wasn't my room, but it  
was a room inside Tomoyo's mansion...it was familiar. I closed my eyes abd  
thought hard and scanned my memories as to some clue to whose room was this.  
Tomoyo? *no...her room is MUCH, MUCH larger than this one...* Eriol? *no...  
I've never seen his room..*  
  
Syaoran?  
  
My eyes suddenly snapped back open. I scanned the room once again. To a  
corner, where a chair was, there was a large, green hat. I went over to it  
and studied it more carefully. It was green in color and it had an orange  
lining on the egdes. To each side was a diamond-shaped ear flaps(?) with  
the same orange lining and a large, dark-green orb embedded in it.  
  
"Syaoran's hat..." I whispered.  
  
This was Syaoran's room.  
  
I hurriedly looked back at the bed and saw that there were blood trails  
going out of the door. Following it, I went out of the room.  
  
Silently and carefully, I followed the blood trail as it went through the  
halls. The whole house was silent. My stomach flattened as the creepiness  
of the place seeped through me. The blood trail went down the grand stairs  
and out of the mansion. I carefully opened the door, carefull not to make  
any noise, and looked out.  
  
I gasped.  
  
Before me were Tomoyo and Eriol's bodies, bathing in their own blood. Their  
clothes were shredded and their bodies were bruised and filled with gaping  
wounds. Blood oozed from their mouths and their lifeless eyes stared skywards  
at nothing. And beyond them, was Syaoran. His back was facing me and he was  
also bloody, bruised with his clothes torn apart. He was facing something...  
and to my surprise...  
  
It was himself.  
  
It was another Syaoran, but with more darker features and evil, red glowing  
eyes. An evil smile was on his face and he seemed really dark....something  
without substance....like a shadow.  
  
Syaoran slowly, and weakly faced me. He had wounds all over his face and   
there was blood trails on the corners of his mouth.  
  
"Syaoran!!!"  
  
"r-run S-Sa-ku-ra...."  
  
Suddenly, the shadow Syaoran's hand bursted through his chest and in his  
palms was Syaoran's beating heart. My stomach threatened to give way and I  
put both my hands on my mouth. I tried to close my eyes but I couldn't...  
and I saw the shadow crush Syaoran's heart. My breath came in gasps as his  
blood splattered all over me ....on my body...on my face...  
  
  
  
"Sakura!!!" my eyes jerked open at the sound of Syaoran's voice. He was  
holding me up by my shoulders and shaking me. I was gasping for air and  
shaking like a leaf as I looked into his amber eyes that was filled with  
worry. "are you okay? you were jerking and gasping so loudly that you woke  
me up..."  
  
I looked around the room and I knew at once that I was Syaoran's room.  
He was kneeling beside me, on his bed and wearing only the lower part of  
his pajamas. "S-syao-ran...." I started to say, but tears filled my eyes  
and I just buried my face in his chest and cried openly. He embraced me  
comfortingly. Once again, I felt secure. "I-I had a nightmare *sob* T-Tomoyo  
and...E-Er-iol and..y-you..w-were..."  
  
"shhh..." he said, breaking his embrace and putting a finger on my lips.  
"forget that... you're safe now....let's sleep ok?" I nodded. "like you  
said, we better rest for tomorrow's journey." slowly, he put his hand down  
and we both laid down, with me all suggled in his arms, and we slept.  
  
All fears faded away in the warmth of his embrace.  
  
  
to be continued 


	27. Chapter 27

disclaimer: I do not own and will never own Card Captor Sakura (though I wish I did)  
it is owned by CLAMP. This author is merely borrowing so please don't sue me!!!^_^;  
  
n/a: hello. I'm really sorry that it took me so long to update this fic.  
Our CPU suddenly had some problems and it had to be sent to an expert so  
that it could be fixed. Fortunately, my files weren't destroyed ^_^ and  
so were my fic files ^_^. Well, I hope you just like this chapter!  
  
  
  
Fated Circle: Four Sacred Treasures of Earth  
  
  
~Part 5  
Nadezha: Flight to Hope  
Chapter 27  
  
  
The next day, Syaoran woke me up with a tickling blow to my ear. We all  
fixed up our things inside a magic sack that Tomoyo provided. The sack   
was as small as an ordinary purse bit it was stretchable and bottomless.   
Tomoyo said that we could pack the whole mansion inside it and it would   
never grow any bigger than its original size or heavier than its original  
weight.  
  
"Sakura," Syaoran called. I was in the bathroom.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"I'll put something on the bed for you to wear. You'll be more comfortable   
in it."  
  
"okay." I replied. After I finished bathing (Syaoran was out tending to   
Shadowbane), I looked at the bed to see neatly folded pieces of clothing.   
There were black baggy pants, a simple white shirt with long and baggy   
sleeves, a pink silk tunic and a scarlet sash. On the side of the bed   
was a pair of black boots. "Hmm… not bad." I murmured, and I put them   
on. The fit was just right and not too loose or not too tight. It was   
comfortable, just like Syaoran said.  
  
  
When I went down to meet the others at the breakfast table, I found out   
that we were wearing almost the same thing but different color combinations.  
  
Syaoran wore black pants and boots; white, loose, long-sleeved shirt   
with a short collar; a green tunic and a brown belt around his waist.   
Eriol was wearing brown leather boots, dark green pants, white long-  
sleeved shirt with a loose collar, dark-red vest with golden buttons,   
and a black belt with a golden buckle around his waist. Tomoyo, on the   
other hand, was wearing black boots; dark-blue, baggy pants (like mine);   
a baggy, long-sleeved, loose sapphire shirt and a sky blue sash around   
her waist. Her hair was tied in a loose ponytail behind her head (my hair  
was braided) and she wore a white bandana.  
  
To say the least, Tomoyo almost looked like a gypsy. All you had to do   
was put some make-up on her and replace her small, but eye-catching,   
sapphire earrings with large golden rings.  
  
  
After we finished our breakfast, Syaoran and Eriol led us to the garden   
where Shadowbane and Thunderstorm were parked, the two birds happily   
greeting us as we appeared before them.  
  
"See? What did I tell you? Nothing is changed OR destroyed." Eriol   
proudly said while patting his Averin with his right hand and sweeping   
his left hand in the air, emphasizing the surroundings.  
  
Tomoyo only nodded.  
  
I went over to Shadowbane and he lowered his head to allow me to stroke   
the soft, white feathers. "Good morning Shadowbane!" I greeted cheerfully.  
He replied by gently rubbing his cheek to mine  
  
"Hey stop that Shadowbane! You're making me jealous!" Syaoran jokingly   
said as he approached us.  
  
In response, Shadowbane cheek-rubbed with me a little bit longer (almost   
knocking me off balance) before he lifted his proud white head, looked   
at me with one of his golden eyes and screamed with glee. I laughed with   
Shadowbane for a while, and then faced Syaoran who had his hands akimbo   
and his lips in a playful pout.  
  
When all the necessary arrangements were done, we took flight. Tomoyo   
and I rode behind our partners and holding on tight around their waist.   
We bore no weapons (since Syaoran was the only experienced flyer-fighter   
in the group and Tomoyo and Eriol had enough magic) and no other heavy   
equipment with us so that our flight would be faster.  
  
The first day's flight was long and hard and we, only getting used to   
it, took short breaks to un-cramp our muscles. When the day was almost   
over, Tomoyo made a magically-weaved island in the middle of the ocean   
and we rested there.  
  
"Where are we now?" I asked Syaoran, who was lying down beside Shadowbane  
and staring at the starry night sky.  
  
Syaoran sighed. "Not yet half-way there."  
  
I sat down beside him. "How far is Nadezha?"  
  
"if you're talking in Averin-flight, about a week and three days or so...  
not including this one; if by sea-boats, two months."  
  
I looked at him in disbelief. "Are you sure? Two months to a week and   
three days? That's awfully fast!"  
  
He suddenly sat up and looked at me. "Hey! We're talking Averins here!   
They're a hardy folk you know. This day is like their warm-up day that's   
why we didn't get too far." He lay back down again and resumed star-  
gazing. "You better rest, Sakura, we won't be resting like this again in   
four days."  
  
"WHAT!"  
  
"Shh! We're trying to be quiet here." Syaoran scolded, "Eriol has put   
Iridyss' magic to use and cloaked us to blend with the sea. Waters don't   
scream you know."  
  
I sighed and plopped down beside him and looked at the dotted sky.  
  
"And that's only my best count." He told me, "If we get attacked, it   
might take longer. But Eriol and I agreed that we'd use Iridyss'   
concealing magic until we reach our goal."  
  
"Won't he get tired?"  
  
"Maybe...I asked him that too, but he told me that we'd have reached   
Nadezha by then."  
  
We both grew silent and I suddenly envied the stars and everything   
around me. They all contributed something to our mission: sun, stars and   
moon provide light; calm waves relax our minds and so on and so fourth.   
I was a mere burden, incapable of doing anything. "Syaoran, why did you   
bring me here? I mean, do I really need to wake that magic within me?" I   
suddenly asked.  
  
"Huh?" he said. Sleepiness was clear in his voice.  
  
"Nothing. Just go o sleep." I told him, and before I knew it, he was   
snoring.  
  
  
In the days that followed we traveled day and night, non-stop. Syaoran   
and I often exchanged seats (Syaoran would fly Shadowbane slowly then)   
so that I could sleep securely in his arms.  
  
But by the end of the third day from our last rest, there was a change   
in plans.  
  
*Syaoran, Sakura, do you hear me?* Eriol asked in our heads Syaoran   
then hand-signaled to Eriol, who was flying beside us, to assure him   
that we heard. *I have an idea: why don't we fly non-stop straight to   
Nadezha? I mean, no rest at all, not even after four days?* he asked.  
  
"WHAT!" I shouted.  
  
*How about the Averins? They won't last that long!* Syaoran objected.  
  
*Tomoyo's songmagic will handle that. She's agreed to this. So far,   
we've seen nothing of the wraiths and Tomoyo and I think it best to keep   
it that way by keeping ahead of them* Eriol explained.  
  
Syaoran grew silent for a while, and then he faced me. *how about you   
Sakura?* he asked, *just speak out in your mind and we'll hear it.*  
  
I nodded. *though I know that it is against all my muscles,* I said in   
my head, it was kind of an odd feeling for me, *I agree. I think that it   
is reasonable.*  
  
*It's settled then, we'll fly on.* Eriol said, and then he and   
Thunderstorm sped up with Syaoran and Shadowbane following closely   
behind.  
  
  
In the afternoon of the 11th day (I kept count), we started to see the   
coastline of Nadezha's beaches. All of my muscles shouted in glee in the   
promise of a nice, long rest after being cramped up for days and days.  
  
The flight proved to me many things. First, how fast an Averin flies   
(it didn't feel like it was fast but we reached Nadezha in a week and   
four days!) and second, how strong Tomoyo's songmagic really is. Each   
time any of the Averins would grow slow or tired (Syaoran and Eriol   
would "speak" with their Averin), either of the two divers would signal   
Tomoyo and she'd sing a tune. Even my body felt rejuvenated after it!   
And the Averins flew like they were fresh from a nice rest.  
  
Then I noticed that we weren't going inland at all. Shadowbane and   
Thunderstorm just kept on following the coastline, not landing or   
steering inland.  
  
"Syaoran, where are we going? We don't seem to be going inland." I   
suddenly asked.  
  
"Somewhere more isolated."  
  
"More isolated?"  
  
"Yup. The Uncharted Forests." He simply answered.  
  
"UNCHARTED Forest? Why there? I mean, who would live there?"  
  
"A friend of mine…and yours. Just wait and see." He said, "OH! And   
don't forget your etiquette!"  
  
"A friend of mine? Remember my etiquette?" I echoed in puzzlement. *I   
wonder who…or what might we be meeting here?* I asked in my thoughts.  
  
  
  
  
to be continued 


	28. Chapter 28

Disclaimer: I do not own and will never own Card Captor Sakura (though I wish I did) it is owned by CLAMP. This author is merely borrowing so please don't sue me!!!^_^;  
  
  
  
Fated Circle: Four Sacred Treasures of Earth  
  
  
~Part 5  
Nadezha: Flight to Hope  
Chapter 28  
  
  
We landed in a grassy clearing within the forest, close to the Spine  
Ridge - a long and forbidding mountain range that the Uncharted Forests   
away from the more populated areas of Nadezha (I think that's the reason   
why it is still uncharted up to now). The Uncharted Forests occupied the   
upper left area of Nadezha and there were very few places of clearing that   
could be seen from above.  
  
As I looked around, the trees surrounding us were so dense that I couldn't  
see anything beyond the trees except blackness.  
  
"Syaoran, where are we going now?" I asked.  
  
He looked around for a bit. "Over there," he pointed, "over those trees   
with the white bark.  
  
I looked at the place and saw two white-barked trees standing next to   
each other with silver-blue leaves. I didn't know what kind of tree it was   
but it was beautiful. "What kind of tree is that?" I asked him.  
  
"That, Sakura, is an Elven tree called Mordrayns or Evelake." Eriol   
answered me.  
  
"Yup, that tree is known to have a life longer than any tree!" Tomoyo   
added.  
  
Syaoran smiled at me. "I guess that answers your question."   
  
After taking a short break and some stretching exercises, we headed   
towards the Evelake trees. "Syaoran, there doesn't seem to be an entrance   
anywhere!" I told him.  
  
Syaoran just smiled at me and suddenly placed his hand in between the   
trunks. To my surprise, his hand just went in the trunk. He kept on   
pushing it inside until his whole left arm was inside the tree. "It's   
perfectly safe. These trees mark the secret entrance to the elven kingdom   
of Salacia."  
  
"WHAT!!!!" Eriol suddenly exclaimed, "You're taking us there??? You must   
be nuts! That's the realm of the sea-elves! We can't go there without   
drowning!!!"  
  
"Relax! Mizuki should have received my message by now!" Syaoran told him   
calmly.  
  
"You don't tell me that…"  
  
"I did."  
  
Completely clueless about what they were talking about, I merely sighed   
and said, "Can we just go? I really can't stand waiting here any longer."   
  
"Eriol, come on!" Syaoran said as he passed through an unseen door and   
disappeared.  
  
Taking a big breath of air and closing my eyes, I followed in.  
  
  
The first thing I felt was that familiar cold wetness that I felt before.   
When I opened my eyes I panicked and immediately stopped breathing. Beside   
me, I heard a soft chuckle. It was Syaoran.  
  
"Don't worry Sakura," he said, to my complete surprise, "it's perfectly   
safe. I asked queen Mizuki to install a spell here so that when we enter,   
it'll be like passing through an ordinary door!"  
  
At first, I was a bit scared but then, he looked at me and smiled and   
portrayed breathing and bubbles appeared before him as he breathed out.   
*okay then, here I go!* and I breathed, expecting me to drown any minute.   
Syaoran's words were proven true when I easily breathed in air. "A-amazing!"  
  
"Heh! Nice one huh?"  
  
I nodded.  
  
Next, Tomoyo went in followed by Eriol. He was looking at Syaoran like we   
was going to kill him. Just right after Eriol went in, four dolphins   
greeted us. They had saddles on their backs and their rich, dark eyes   
invited us to ride them.  
  
"WOW!! A real-life dolphin!" I said happily, "I've never seen one in   
real-life!"  
  
"Well, this might me an experience of a lifetime Sakura, not only do you   
get to see them, but you get to ride them as well!!" Tomoyo told me.  
  
I felt my smile widen as I slowly approached them and touched their skin.   
It was a bit slimy but it felt silky nonetheless. "Can we really ride   
them?" I asked.  
  
"What do you think those saddles are for?" Syaoran said and he rode on   
one of the dolphins and held on the rein that was oddly attached to the   
saddle and not the dolphin.  
  
Tomoyo rode on as well and Eriol too. I was the last person to get on.   
After I comfortably seated myself, the dolphins took off. At first, they   
were going along on fine speed but as time went on, they sped up until I   
had to stoop down just to avoid drinking the water in.   
  
  
When we finally stopped, I had to fix myself up a bit because I was a bit   
disoriented. I was about to ask Syaoran a question when I saw the look of   
awe in his amber eyes. He was looking at the direction straight ahead of   
us and being the curious person that I am, looked to that direction as   
well.   
  
It was an awe-inspiring sight. There was a city before us, with small and   
big houses made of rock with spiraling roofs made of.....well, something I   
didn't know. Beyond the houses was a sand-colored castle with spiraling   
towers and decorated with shells that was visible from where we stood   
(which was an awful lot away). The roofs of the towers were not spiraling   
like the houses, but ridged - like that of a shell.  
  
People floated on the streets and above the houses and dolphin-pulled   
carriages and seahorse-pulled carts floated above the houses. But then, if   
you looked more carefully, they weren't people at all. They were elves,   
with pointed ears and slim bodies. Most of them had bluish-green skin with   
webbed hands and feet, but there were some who were flesh colored too… or   
blue-green skinned with normal fingers but webbed feet…and so on…  
  
"Welcome to Salacia, Sakura" Syaoran told me.  
  
"This is beautiful!!... and amazing!" I said.  
  
"Wait till you meet the king." Eriol said with a laugh.  
  
"We're going to meet the King and Queen??"  
  
Tomoyo nodded. Then, she urged her dolphin forward. The three of us   
followed behind her.  
  
As we passed above the busy streets, many elves stopped to look at us. It   
seemed to me that it was the first time they say any people like us at   
all.  
  
Up close, you could notice that the sea elves wore a kind of cloth that   
was mostly in the hue of blues, greens and browns but sometimes in reds   
and yellows as well. There were many people with different jobs, just like   
on land. There was even a group of tuna fishes that we passed along, being   
urged forward by a boy sea-elf with a small brown hat (that looked like it   
was made up of thin roots of plants), a blue shirt and brown shorts with   
holding a staff in his left hand. Tomoyo told me that he was a fish-herder,  
similar to that of a sheep-herder.  
  
After that short passage, we stopped right before the castle's blue   
walls, just beyond a crimson-colored moat, in front of a wooden drawbridge.  
  
"An enspelled moat." Tomoyo said, "Interesting."  
  
"Enspelled moat?" I asked.  
  
"This moat is not made of water, but made of spells itself. I heard that   
it will pull anything down once you try to cross it, no matter how high   
you are." Syaoran explained.  
  
"Even above water?"  
  
"Even above water." A familiar voice, deep and light at the same time,   
said.  
  
I knew that the voice didn't come from Eriol because Eriol's voice was   
kind of high and flat voice (well that's what it seemed to me). I looked   
before us and that's when I saw that the drawbridge was already down and   
there was someone standing on it. This person was a man, with short brown   
hair, thin brown eyes and a tall, well-built stature. He was all clad in a   
black, tight shirt with silver buttons and long sleeves lined with a silver  
leaf design in the edges. He also wore black pants with a single, silver   
seaweed design sewed along the side, the part below the knees tucked   
inside a black, leather boot with a silver lining on the top edge and he   
had white gloves on his hands (which was not webbed!). Finally, he wore a   
single band of gold on his forehead with a large white gem that was shaped   
like a star in the middle.  
  
"T-to-touya??"   
  
"Hello Sakura, long time no see."  
  
Syaoran put a hand on my shoulder. "Sakura, meet Touya Svaldifari, King   
of the Sea-Elves of Salacia.  
  
to be continued 


	29. Shadow Realms : Part 6 Chapter 29

Disclaimer: I do not own and will never own Card Captor Sakura (though I wish I did) it is owned by CLAMP. This author is merely borrowing so please don't sue me!!!^_^;  
  
n/a: WOW! at last! After FF.net's misfortunes, I was struck with a bit of  
misfortune myself. Our computer broke...but now, as you can see, the next TWO  
(yes, unfortunately I made only two) chapters! I hope you like 'em!  
  
  
Fated Circle: Four Sacred Treasures of Earth  
  
  
~Part 6  
Shadow Realms  
Chapter 29  
  
  
"I-I d-didn't know…" I stammered.  
  
"Nobody knew except for the three of them." He replied smiling, pointing to  
the others. "But aren't you glad now? Now you know."  
  
I smiled. "I am…I never even imagined being you a king. Whatever were you   
doing in the princess' court?"  
  
He leaned in close to me and whispered, "It's a secret" and then moved away   
with a wink.  
  
I only giggled in reply.  
  
"I'm sorry to interrupt but…" Syaoran suddenly said, "We're all really tired.  
I don't mean to be rude, it's just that…"  
  
Touya smiled at him and put a hand on his shoulder. "I completely understand.   
I should be the one saying sorry for keeping you here!"  
  
Oddly, when I looked at Syaoran, he didn't seem to like Touya at all. And   
surprisingly, so did the others. I never said a word though, because I was   
afraid of what would happen if I did so.  
  
"But I'm afraid there's a problem…" Touya added. He then faced us and the   
surroundings turned black. I stepped back but Touya grabbed my wrist and   
pulled me close. "You're not going anywhere!" he said in a hoarse voice.   
  
"T-Touya!!"  
  
"Sakura! You let her go demon!!" Syaoran shouted.  
  
I was surprised by what he called Touya. I knew something was wrong but I   
definitely didn't think that Touya was a demon. Then, I looked at him to see   
his reaction and I was totally surprised. His face was dark, almost shadowlike.   
His eyes were glowing red…and his silhouette…was like….  
  
"Syaoran's Shadow!!!!" Tomoyo exclaimed.  
  
"Well met." He greeted, "I see that you know me very well. I figured that   
it was about time to see who truly rules your body…" he smirked.  
  
Syaoran stepped forward with a defiant glare. "Let's battle then!"  
  
Shadow Syaoran smiled darkly. "Why not indeed? Don't you know what would   
happen if you lost?"  
  
"What do you mean?" Eriol  
  
"He'd get everything, Eriol. Everything." Syaoran replied, "Your life,   
Tomoyo's life, the whole world….Sakura…"  
  
I gasped.  
  
"That's the price??" Tomoyo said, and turning to the shadow, replied,   
"You're really a devil!"  
  
The shadow smirked and laughed. "What do you think? I wouldn't be called a   
shadow for nothing." Then, he faced me. "You're really quite a catch…"  
  
"Let go of me!" I shouted at him though I knew that struggling would be   
useless  
  
"Now, now…you know I wouldn't do that…" he said, looking maliciously at me.   
Then, he leaned in closer to kiss me on the neck. I naturally tried to push   
him away and threw a couple of punches on his chest. He stopped in midpoint.   
"Ahh… yes, the feisty one."  
  
"Don't even dare!!" Syaoran shouted.  
  
"Why? What would you do to me?" the shadow asked.  
  
Syaoran kept silent. We all knew very well that my life was at stake.  
  
The shadow laughed. "Really, don't be foolish. You all know that you're all   
under me. I have a hostage." Then, he hastily threw me aside. "Join the old   
men." He said, and bars surrounded me, trapping me in a cage and a large   
cage at that.  
  
"What do you mean 'join the old men?'?" Tomoyo asked.  
  
The shadow looked at Syaoran. "You didn't tell them?" he smirked. "Of   
course, why would you? Well…if you don't know… when the Dark Lord when to   
Nadezha to try and capture it, little Syaoran captured a famous magician…TWO   
famous magicians…" the devil then snapped a finger and beside me appeared   
two people.  
  
They were both old men, and both were wearing glasses. The man to my right   
had silvery, long hair tied behind him and brown eyes. He was quite old but   
he still had vigor in his eyes. He was wearing long loose pants and a long,   
turtleneck shirt in which only the upper part was buttoned. It was only   
colored white with no design whatsoever.  
  
The other man, to my left, had a short gray-chestnut hair. He was wearing   
the usual wizard's robe that was dark green in color with matching pointed   
hat. He looked more old and weak and awfully familiar…  
  
I immediately approached him as he seemed to faint. "Are you okay?" I   
asked.  
  
"He's fine. Don't worry." The other man replied, "He's just not used to   
popping up every now and then. And don't try asking. He's lost his voice a   
long time ago."  
  
"Oh…" I looked at the old man. "I'm sorry."  
  
He just nodded, smiling.  
  
"He says he's okay. By the way, I'm Clow Reed and he's Fujitaka Kinomoto."  
  
"Hello. I'm Sakura…I wish we could have met in a better situation." I   
replied.  
  
"I can't believe it…Clow Reed and Fujitaka Kinomoto!" Eriol exclaimed.  
  
"Syaoran did you…?" Tomoyo asked.  
  
Syaoran took a deep breath and nodded. Both Eriol and Tomoyo looked at him   
in a way I couldn't understand….like he was a monster.  
  
"Don't blame him." Mr. Clow said.   
  
*yes, his shadow was controlling him.* another voice said suddenly. And by   
the way everyone reacted, everybody heard it.  
  
"That was Fujitaka. He's using sending to relay what he wants to say. But   
only if it is important, since it uses magic." Mr. Clow explained.  
  
"Shut up old man!" the shadow said. "It's quite useless to talk right now.   
Besides, these people will have to think over about the rules of the game."  
  
"Rules of the game?" Tomoyo asked.  
  
The shadow nodded. "You know that I'm still gonna fight you. So, now, I'll   
let you make up the rules of the game."  
  
"How about we always win?" Eriol asked.  
  
The shadow smirked. "Very funny. I might kill you for that but, you're   
already a puny group so I'll let you live 'till later."  
  
"Very well then." Syaoran finally said, "Let's get this rolling."  
  
"Rules?" the shadow asked.  
  
"None."  
  
"WHAT?" both Eriol and Tomoyo shouted at him?   
  
"Do you know how dangerous that is?" Tomoyo asked.  
  
"I know."  
  
"Then why did you say that?" Eriol asked, clutching Syaoran by the collar   
and shaking him.  
  
"He's my shadow." Syaoran calmly said, "I know him better than any of you.   
Rules will only restrain us, not him. He'll find a way to cheat us and break   
the rules without us knowing it. Rules are useless."  
  
There was a moment of silence and a Syaoran looked oddly at Mr. Kinomoto.   
Syaoran nodded his head and calmly removed Eriol's hand.  
  
The shadow Syaoran raised an eyebrow. "Is the 'no rules' rule final?" he   
smirked.  
  
"No." Syaoran replied, which drew a few relieved sighs from Tomoyo and   
Eriol, "I will make one rule."  
  
"Only one?" Tomoyo said in surprise. Syaoran raised up a silencing arm.   
Eriol's already deadly look on Syaoran got even deadlier.  
  
"Only one. That is, there will be no use of shadow magic or, for that   
matter, ANY magic coming from you." Syaoran said firmly.  
  
The shadow gave Mr. Fujitaka a silent look of disappointment and raw hate.   
"Very well then," the shadow smirked, "no…"  
  
Syaoran drew his sword and in one quick movement, removed all distance   
between him and his shadow and told him at sword's point, "repeat after me."  
  
His shadow smirked once again. "Ever cautious?"  
  
Syaoran only pressed his sword further and drew out a small trickle of dark   
red blood. "There will be no use…"  
  
"There will be no use…" the shadow repeated, looking at him with poison.  
  
"Of shadow magic…"  
  
"Of shadow magic…"  
  
"Or any magic coming from you."  
  
"Or any magic..." Syaoran pressed the sword's point further "…coming from   
me."  
  
"Rules shall be imposed." Mr. Clow Reed said, and a symbol appeared on the   
shadow Syaoran's palms and forehead. It was a seed with a young sapling   
growing from it, with the sun shining on the right and the crescent moon on   
the left. Above it, were three stars and all of the symbols were enclosed by   
a circle. I knew it to be the goddess of life's symbol. Zoë's symbol.  
  
"You'll pay for this, old men." The shadow said. Syaoran had already moved   
away by then, cleaning his blade. "Let's begin…"  
  
"WAIT!" I shouted, questions were plaguing my mind and I wanted them   
answered.  
  
The shadow moved towards me and lifted my chin with his left hand. "What is   
it my little flower?"  
  
"I-I wanted to know why did you do this only now, what happened to the Sea   
Elves and if Touya really is their king." I said. Looking at Syaoran's evil   
double was no easy task.  
  
"I did this now because I wanted to, my dear. As for the Sea Elves, they're   
all fine. I already altered the portal you entered into so that you'll arrive  
here." He paused, "it was a very good impression of the Sea Elves' home wasn't  
it Syaoran?" Syaoran made no reply. "As for Touya…he is the King of the Sea   
Elves. He has been re-captured along with the others back at Romealy."  
  
"t-that c-can't be!" I said, "…no…"  
  
"I'm afraid it is." The shadow smirked, "Syaoran witnessed his capture. Too   
bad I teleported him to Migi Archipelago after he heard that Touya was going   
to be executed…"  
  
"NO!!" I shouted. Tears filled my eyes and overflowed. Touya was a bother   
that I never was able to have. And now…  
  
*you lie, shadow!* Mr. Kinomoto's words echoed all around us, filled with   
anger and despair.  
  
The shadow let go of me and walked away. "Believe what you want. For now,   
my only concern is the battle. Are you all ready?" he asked Tomoyo, Eriol   
and Syaoran.  
  
"More ready than you'll ever be." Syaoran replied.  
  
"Let's get it on!" the shadow shouted, going into his battle stance.  
  
  
to be continued 


	30. Chapter 30

Disclaimer: I do not own and will never own Card Captor Sakura (though I wish I did) it is owned by CLAMP. This author is merely borrowing so please don't sue me!!!^_^;  
  
  
  
Fated Circle: Four Sacred Treasures of Earth  
  
  
~Part 6  
Shadow Realms  
Chapter 30  
  
  
In a single heartbeat, Syaoran, his shadow-self, Eriol and Tomoyo readied  
their weapons. Syaoran held his sword before him, both hands holding the   
hilt. Tomoyo's scarf (the one that hung about her waist), was actually a   
weapon and _very_ long. She held it on her right hand, with all the loose   
ends floating about her, and on the other hand, she held an opened folding   
fan. Eriol had two scimitars (you know, it's like a sword that the pirates   
use, the one with a bent blade), one for each hand: the right hand's blade   
facing up and the left hand's blade facing down, and he held them on a   
defensive pose. The Shadow Syaoran however, held a long sword, whose length   
exceeded his own height, with a dark blade, a simple hilt with a long grip   
that ended in a black orb. He was holding it on his right hand, blade facing   
down, and his other hand was raised before him, signaling his opponents to   
come and attack.  
  
Deep inside me, a flame started to burn with the anticipation of the battle   
that was going to happen. Somehow, a part of me really liked it - and even   
wanted to join in - but another part of me hated it and wanted me not to look.   
The new feelings that invaded me puzzled and confused me, as I only had the   
feeling of wanting to fight only once: when I was disguised and battling in   
the oasis.  
  
"What's happening to me…?" I murmured. But my thoughts were disturbed as I   
heard the sound of steel clashing against steel. The flame inside me burned   
with such intensity that I watched, excited but also nervous, the fight that   
had just started.  
  
I surprised myself when I watched them and saw every detail of the fight. I   
knew well enough that my eyes weren't trained for battle and I was expecting   
to see nothing but blurs but somehow, I saw everything.  
  
Tomoyo attacked first, raising her right hand and immediately made a pushing   
action forward her which made the floating ends of her scarf go forward and   
attack the shadow. The shadow immediately jumped up with Eriol and Syaoran   
following closely behind, Syaoran making a wide overhead arc while Eriol's   
scimitars were in ready for a close attack.  
  
Syaoran's overhead arc attack missed the shadow by mere millimeters and the   
Shadow immediately defended himself from Eriol's mid-slash duo by quickly   
placing his downward-facing blade before him.  
  
As soon as the shadow Syaoran landed, Tomoyo quickly rushed forward and made   
her scarf wrap around the shadow. Tomoyo followed up by slapping the shadow   
silly with her (already folded) folding fan. The shadow's dark sword quickly   
cut through the scarf and he made a back-flip, avoiding another one of   
Tomoyo's attacks. Amazingly, Tomoyo's scarf mended itself.   
  
By that time, Syaoran had already landed and was rushing towards his   
shadow-self, his blade facing down and making sparks as it scraped the floor.   
Syaoran's upward slash was avoided by his shadow's quick jumping reflexes.   
But that wasn't all. As soon as the shadow had landed, Syaoran came in with a   
forward thrust, which managed to make a medium-sized wound on his shadow's   
left arm. The shadow then attacked Syaoran but like his shadow, he was quick   
to move and was able to escape with a back-flip.   
  
Now, Eriol and Tomoyo attacked together. First, Tomoyo made her scarf wrap   
tightly around the shadow and Eriol attacked with two gashes - two gashes   
only because even though the shadow was tightly wrapped, Tomoyo's strength   
gave way easily and he managed to doge the attacks.  
  
Most of the time, my friends were on the offensive side. An slash here and   
there, wide arc attacks and many more. On the other hand, Shadow Syaoran was   
on the defensive side - a back-flip here, a jump there, roll, parry, you name   
it. My hopes rose when everything went on like that for a couple more minutes   
but then again, those kind of things don't last long with an opponent like   
the Shadow Curse.  
  
The battle rings stopped. In the middle of the fighting court stood Shadow   
Syaoran, and the three surrounded him. That's was when I realized that Shadow   
didn't fight just defensively, but also offensively.  
  
They were all wounded. Little gashed and cuts here and there but there were   
so much of it that blotches of blood showed clearly though their shirts. All   
of them were tired and breathing heavily.  
  
"foolish Syaoran! Don't you know that no one can beat me in physical battle?   
You are ever the fool!" the shadow mocked. "no one can beat me!"  
  
"maybe - I could. I'll never give up!" Syaoran shouted.  
  
The shadow smirked. "I know that you wouldn't. but I think its time for me   
to attack."  
  
"not yet." Tomoyo said defiantly. All of a sudden, Tomoyo jumped up and   
shouted, "Dragon Rage!!" Tomoyo raised her right hand and her scarf suddenly   
formed a Dragon, glowing with blue light. Tomoyo pointed her fan towards the   
Shadow's location and immediately the dragon attacked. It was so quick that   
the shadow hadn't managed to escape. The shadow was pushed until he the wall.  
  
Clouds filled the room and nothing could be seen…  
  
  
  
to be continued 


	31. Chapter 31

Disclaimer: I do not own and will never own Card Captor Sakura (though I wish I did) it is owned by CLAMP. This author is merely borrowing so please don't sue me!!!^_^;  
  
n/a: Hello! First of all, I'd like to thank ALL of the people who have read my fic even  
after that _very long_ "break" THANK YOU!!!! ^o^  
I hope that youd enjoy this chapter!  
  
  
Fated Circle: Four Sacred Treasures of Earth  
  
  
~Part 6  
Shadow Realms  
Chapter 31  
  
  
The clouds of dust disappeared and all was silent. Far away, there was a   
huge bulk lying on the ground. I knew that I should be happy... but something   
was amiss.  
  
"Finally!" Tomoyo sighed. "I was getting tired of him."  
  
"too easy..." Eriol murmured.  
  
"watch out!!!" Syaoran suddenly shouted, "behind you!"   
  
Tomoyo turned around only to see Shadow Syaoran's smirking face facing her.  
  
"really?" the shadow said, "too bad. I WAS beginning to like you and all."  
  
My heart thumped within my chest. The shadow's positioning was at the   
fullest advantage. I was certain that he wouldn't let this one pass.   
"TOMOYO!!" I shouted at the top of my lungs as the shadow plunged his dark   
sword through her stomach area.  
  
"T-TOMOYO!!" Eriol's voice ringed in my ears.  
  
There was blood... staining her dress... spreading... spreading...  
  
All my senses dulled from the shock. I couldn't see, hear, taste, smell or   
feel. I was like a baby. I had a feeling of swirling and swirling to impending   
doom...  
  
  
"hhnn..." I groaned. My head ached and I felt as if I had just been through   
solving some kind of math problem. Then I realized that I was lying down.  
  
"Ahh... I see you're awake." Mr. Reed's voice greeted me.  
  
Slowly, my eyes adjusted to the light. What had happened? Then I suddenly   
remembered... "T-Tomoyo..." I asked weakly. Mr. Reed's face finally focused   
into view.  
  
His face was somber. He had a smile but it had no humor or sweetness in it.   
It was a very grim smile. "I'm sorry, Sakura." He said and then he just shook   
his head.  
  
She was dead. Tomoyo was dead.  
  
Tears filled my eyes and overflowed. She was a friend. The only permanent   
female companion she had. Tomoyo had taught her a lot about magics while her   
mansion was still being fixed. And during the flight on the way here, she   
had sometimes chatted with her through sending, cheering me up... her blue   
eyes full of care and sweetness... her warm smile...  
  
I remembered the battle.  
  
"the others?" I asked.  
  
Mr. Reed bit his lower lip. "Syaoran's doing fine. But I'm afraid..." he   
trailed off.  
  
My heart ached more. "Imp-p-possible!" I said, my sobs choking my words.   
This is not happening to me! Impossible! Eriol can't... it's not real...  
  
"I'm afraid it's true, Sakura." He answered, as if reading my thoughts.  
  
Immediately, I rose from where I lied down which made the whole world   
revolve around me. I was lucky that Mr. Reed was close to me and he managed   
to catch me before I fell.  
  
"Careful now," he said, "you've just awakened from fainting."  
  
"F-fainting?"  
  
"Yes Sakura, you've just awakened from fainting." He told me again.  
  
"Maybe you're just not so used to see people getting killed in front of   
you." Another voice said in my head. I recognized it to be Mr. Fujitaka's   
voice.  
  
"Easy now." Mr. Reed told me, slowly helping me up.  
  
I thought that I would faint again. It was such a horror that I didn't.   
Just a few steps away from the cage lay Eriol's body. He was swimming in his   
own blood. There was a massive bloodstain on his back... it made me realize   
that he was hit directly at the heart. It was a good thing he was facing   
away from me. I didn't think that I could survive seeing his face like that.   
A few miles, northeast of Eriol was Tomoyo's body in her own bloody pool,   
her blue glassy eyes staring into space. Tears flowed like rivers on my   
cheeks. My knees shook and I fell on all fours.  
  
"Easy now, Sakura. It was inevitable, but we must not waste their efforts,"   
Mr. Fujitaka's voice ringed inside my head again. I felt his hand caressing   
my back and comforting me.  
  
Then, I heard the clash of metal to metal. I'm sure that it had been going   
on for quite sometime now. But I guess that I was too occupied to have heard.  
  
Syaoran and his shadow were fighting fiercely. I could say that the flame   
within me had already burned out because I didn't see a thing but some sparks   
that appeared occasionally. I couldn't believe that I saw what was happening   
before. Just then, there was a bright spark and then I saw the two of them   
staring at each other fiercely, panting and bleeding.  
  
"Look!" Syaoran's shadow said, making me look at him and meet his frightening   
gaze. "The pretty flower has awakened."  
  
"Sakura! Are you alright?" Syaoran asked jumping closer to the cage until   
he already was close enough to touch. I walked closer to him and touched his   
bleeding face.  
  
I smiled at him. "You know I'm fine. How about you? You look so awful"  
  
"Don't worry about me." He smiled. "I'm quite alright."  
  
"SYAORAN! BEHIND YOU!" Mr. Reed suddenly shouted.  
  
Syaoran turned around and there was a clash of steel.  
  
"You b-better get u-used t-to telling that to me, Sakura. I swear you'll be   
mine!" the shadow told me while struggling with Syaoran.  
  
"NEVER!" Syaoran shouted at him through gritted teeth. "Over my dead body!"  
  
"Don't worry, I'll do just that." His shadow snickered.  
  
*This is horrid...* I thought. Then, I suddenly remembered my dream... there,  
everyone was killed...   
  
~flashback~  
  
I tried to close my eyes but I couldn't... and I saw the shadow crush Syaoran's  
heart.My breath came in gasps as his blood splattered all over me ....on my body...  
on my face...  
  
~end~  
  
Killed... my mind echoed again and again. I crossed my fingers and prayed to  
Zoe that it wouldn't happen here... *no, please, don't let it happen!* I screamed  
in my thoughts.  
  
Once again, the battle for life had begun.  
  
  
to be continued 


	32. Chapter 32

Disclaimer: I do not own and will never own Card Captor Sakura (though I wish I did) it is owned by CLAMP. This author is merely borrowing so please don't sue me!!!^_^;  
  
n/a: Sorry if it took so long... examinations you know...  
  
  
Fated Circle: Four Sacred Treasures of Earth  
  
  
~Part 6  
Shadow Realms  
Chapter 32  
  
  
They both fought hard and skillfully. I could not see much, since I had   
lost my 'battle sight' all I know is that there are many things that   
occurred until that one horrible thing happened.  
  
Syaoran was cornered. He was facing his Shadow, his sword arm down and   
the Shadow Syaoran faced him, the tip of his dark sword mere inches away   
from Syaoran's neck. I knew that Syaoran knew better than to move. I   
leaned closer to the edge of the cage, gripping the bars tightly.  
  
"Well now, what will you do now? It seems that I have already won."   
The Shadow said. Syaoran gave no reply. "Can't do anything huh? I see   
that I shall win this planet and your pretty flower Sakura."  
  
"Oh please! Don't kill him!" I shouted.  
  
The shadow faced me, his red eyes glowing fiercely. "So, are you begging   
for his life?" I looked at Syaoran, who was also facing me, his eyes   
wide in shock.  
  
*I shall miss your smile and your dear, amber eyes...* I thought. I   
looked back at the shadow defiantly and nodded my head slowly.  
  
"No! Sakura!" Syaoran shouted.  
  
The shadow laughed. "You hear that? Your lovely wife asks me to take   
her!"  
  
"...IN EXCHANGE for MY Syaoran's life." I cleared, my temper rising.  
  
The shadow dismissed me with a wave of his hand. I looked at Syaoran   
who looked hurt and unbelievingly at me. *I hope you understand...* I   
thought. And I looked away from him, too hurt to look at his face.  
  
All of a sudden, the Shadow Syaoran snapped his fingers and I was out   
of the cage, my wrists and ankles chained. Once again, I was a slave.   
"There!" the shadow triumphantly shouted. "Your lovely wife is now mine.   
You're free to go." And the shadow removed the blade.  
  
Syaoran stood up weakly, his face sad as he looked at me, his amber   
eyes lifeless. How it pained me to see him like that. I turned my face   
away. But then, something caught my eye. It was him! The shadow! And   
the look in his eyes was far worse than some serial killer.  
  
*He's going to kill him!* my mind screamed. I stood up, all the pains   
of the chains pulling at me. "Syaoran! Behind you!" I shouted. He looked   
behind him and the shadow was already on the move. I pulled harder,   
trying to free myself in vain. "Syaoran!" I screamed.  
  
~flash~  
  
I felt a floating sensation. I was near a rocky stream that was going   
downwards. I felt myself inside a body... a female body. This body was   
not in my control so I just let it move. Then, someone was walking   
behind me.  
  
"Hello, Sakura." A voice greeted. I turned my face and the face of   
this body turned as well. I was facing Syaoran. He was wearing something   
like what Mr. Reed was wearing, pure white lines with gold.  
  
"Hello." I greeted my voice more mature and sweet. I didn't know what   
was happening, but it wasn't bad. After we saw each other, we played   
chase just like little children do and finally, Syaoran managed to   
catch me and we both fell on to the soft ground.  
  
Our laughing fell silent and we just noiselessly watched the lazy   
clouds drifting through the sky. My left hand reached for his left hand   
and both our hands clasped together.  
  
"I love you, my little angel." His voice whispered in my ear.  
  
I looked up at him, into his amber eyes. "I love you too my little   
tiger-wolf." I chuckled softly. Then again, we both looked into each   
other's eyes and...  
  
~flash~  
  
I saw her there, standing before me. She was wearing a beautiful long-  
sleeved, wide-collared gown with a large flowing skirt that moved gracefully   
with her. She was also wearing a veil on her head and she looked very   
much like a woman going to be wed. Brilliance was coming from her so I   
couldn't look at her.  
  
"W-who are you?" I asked.  
  
"Why," she replied, "I'm you."  
  
At that response I quickly opened my eyes and was surprised to see her   
standing just a step away from me. Through her veil I could clearly see   
the emerald greenness of her eyes - there was knowledge and wisdom in   
them that I knew I didn't have. Slowly, she lifted the veil. I was shocked.   
Indeed, she was me - a me with a short hair. At the close distance that   
she was in, it was only then that I noticed she had TWO PAIRS of wings.   
"T-t-that can't be!" I blurted out, "I'M ME!"  
  
"Yes." She answered, "You are you. I am me also. But, we are one."  
  
"We are one?" I echoed questioningly. She nodded her head. "B-but h-h-how?"   
I asked with my fists clenched.  
  
She smiled at me and in her eyes was a kind spark. "You must be very   
confused." And indeed I was. "The words are what they mean, Sakura. I   
am you, you are me - we are one. I have always been here, inside you   
heart and mind, waiting for this day to come."  
  
"This day?" I asked.  
  
"Yes, this day that you and I finally become one." She stepped a bit   
closer and held my hand in hers. "I have been trapped in a cage, Sakura.   
You have denied me and forgotten me." At her words, my heart ached with   
such longing to embrace her like a finally found sister. "Come Sakura,   
embrace me..." she said, her gentle eyes beckoning.  
  
And I did...  
  
~flash~  
  
"S-Sakura?" Syaoran's voice woke me. I was standing upright, floating   
even. A light emulated from my body and I finally remembered.   
  
I was whole again.  
  
Knowledge I never knew existed flowed in my brain, memories of my past   
lives. There were some that were too painful to recall. In that moment,   
I had grown mature. In that moment I was me once again. My feet finally   
touched the floor. "Syaoran..." I said gently, "I'm me again, my love.   
My little tiger-wolf." I smiled.  
  
He straightened up and smiled. His face and body were no longer bloody   
and bruised but back the way they were. "My little angel..." he replied.  
  
"WHAT JOKE IS THIS?" the angry Shadow shouted.  
  
I faced him bravely, armed with my new-found knowledge, realizing that   
I AM the light who will save Syaoran. "I am the light which you fear,   
shadow. All ends now." I told him.  
  
It was about time that I ended this madness.  
  
  
  
to be continued 


	33. Light : Part 7 Chapter 33

Disclaimer: I do not own and will never own Card Captor Sakura (though I wish I did) it is owned by CLAMP. This author is merely borrowing so please don't sue me!!!^_^;  
  
  
  
  
Fated Circle: Four Sacred Treasures of Earth  
  
  
~Part 7  
Light  
Chapter 33  
  
  
"And who are you to tell me that?" the shadow asked.  
  
"I am who you fear." I answered him. I knew it to be truth and I knew also that  
he only considers it as a lie. "You may believe it or not." I added.  
  
He only smirked at me. "I must say that I AM impressed of the magic that you used   
to free yourself from my chains. Those were my best work at it. I see that I must   
work at it again." He said.  
  
"Sakura, this is my..." Syaoran started to say.  
  
I faced him and caressed his face. "No, my love." I told him, "I must finish   
this. You know that well enough." He pursed his lips, nodded, smiled at me and   
walked away. I looked back at Syaoran's shadow to see it staring at Syaoran in   
disbelief.  
  
"You let yourself be defeated by this girl?" he said.  
  
"I WILL finish you." I said firmly  
  
He again looked back on me and smirked. "As you wish." He then bowed to me and   
jumped back, and did his fighting stance the moment he landed.  
  
I touched the pendant that hung around my neck. I knew it well now, ever since   
all the knowledge and memories that was once locked inside me had been freed.   
"Key of the Stars," I started to say...  
  
"With powers burning bright,   
Reveal the staff,   
And shine your light!  
Release!"  
  
At once the pendant removed itself from the chain and transformed into a staff   
that was as tall as I, with a transparent crystalline shaft that revealed all the   
colors of the rainbow and a six-pointed crystal star surrounded by a silver halo   
that had tiny golden angel wings attached to the sides of it. "Prepare yourself."   
I said, but then I remembered that I hadn't got the cards and I only saw the Watery   
and the Windy before.  
  
"Your ladyship," A voice said behind me. I looked around and saw Mr. Clow Reed.   
*Of course! How could I forget him!* I thought. "I think you need this." He said,   
and from the insides of his robes appeared the book of Clow.  
  
"Mr. Clow Reed!" I said smiling. "How could I forget? I'm glad that we met again."   
I said.  
  
"It is nice to see you back to your old self again, Sakura." He told me, as he   
threw the book to me.  
  
"Same here." I told him with a smile as I caught the book with precision ease.  
"Oh! I saw the Windy and the Watery cards loose!" I told him.  
  
He smiled. "I did that in purpose."  
  
"Can we PLEASE start?" the shadow's voice shouted, making me just make what Mr.   
Reed said a mental note.  
  
I threw the book high up into the air and replied, "Certainly. Book of Clow,   
release!" I shouted, making the book open up and scatter the cards about me; with   
the cards themselves rearranging into a circle about me. After that, the book   
closed and disappeared, as with the cards, like it should.  
  
"That won't work on me." The shadow said.  
  
"Let's try it." I said, and then summoned a card. I held my staff aloft and the   
crystal star twirled and sparkled. "Light card! Release and Dispel!" the Light   
Card appeared above my staff and the star twirled faster as the wings on the side   
grew bigger as the card released its powers.  
  
"What the..." I heard the shadow said.  
  
The brightness of the Light Card filled the room and all shadows were gone. Mr.   
Reed was released from his cage and all of Syaoran's wounds were healed. "I am the   
light that of which you fear." I told him once again.  
  
"I'm not afraid of the light." He told me, and he disappeared to attack.  
  
"Where did he go?" Syaoran said.  
  
I lowered my staff and the Light appeared beside me, still beautiful as usual.   
"I'm glad you're back." She said.  
  
"Me too." I replied while keeping alert. Suddenly, the Light turned around and   
something bright flashed behind my back. There was an agonized shout and I turned   
around to see the shadow lying on his back, shielding his eyes, his sword clearly   
out of reach. "Thanks." I told her. She smiled. "Sword! Release and Dispel!"   
immediately, the staff I held became a sword with a crystal blade and a light-pink   
colored handle. There was a pink, Cherry Blossom-shaped crystal on the hilt. And   
at once, I placed the tip underneath his chin.  
  
"You know well that I cannot be killed by that." He told me.  
  
I smirked. "I know that well. But this is different." I told him and I plunged my   
blade directly in his heart. The blade shimmered and out of it beams of light flew.   
The shadow looked at me, wide-eyed.  
  
"N-no!" it shouted as it disappeared forever.  
  
When he was totally gone, the called back the cards I released and my staff became   
a pendant once again. And then our surroundings started to become distorted.   
"W-what's happening?" I asked.  
  
"He's gone now." Syaoran's voice told me. He was standing behind me and so I   
turned around and faced him. "Thank You." he told me, and he kissed me lightly on   
the lips.  
  
Even after that moment, I still had my eyes closed and when I opened it, we were   
back to where the Averins were landed.  
  
*Sakura...* a voice inside my head spoke. It was a kind male voice, gentle but   
firm. I knew it very well.  
  
"Father..." I said, facing to where Fujitaka Kinomoto, my father, was standing   
and approached him. I had totally forgotten him during the fight, but now I knew I   
would cherish this moment forever. "I-I thought I'd never see you again..."  
  
*Me too.* he told me while smiling. *Do you remember now?* he asked. I knew by   
that that he was asking about my brother, who was none other than King Touya   
Svaldifari. I nodded. After that, I was so overwhelmed with emotion that I embraced   
my father. I have missed him so much. After a moment or two, my father said, *what   
about your friends? They're loosing time, my dear.* He told me.  
  
I broke my embrace and looked at the field. Eriol was being mourned on by his   
Averin, Thunderstorm while Mr. Reed was checking on Tomoyo. I knew what I had to   
do. Now that I was the Angel of Light again, I knew I had the power to bring them   
back. "Please bring them here." I requested. Mr. Reed and Syaoran abided by bringing   
their bodies before me. I breathed deeply. I knew what I had to do but it had been   
a long time.  
  
I looked at the sky and raised my hands up high. Then, I abruptly returned my   
hands to my sides, a little bit away from my body, with palms outward. The Sacred   
Circle that was imprinted on the back of the Book of Clow appeared underneath the   
two bodies. It glowed a brilliant gold and it pulsated with a golden light. Then I   
cited:  
  
"Open to me Gate of Heaven,  
Hear me and let me in.  
I plead to you and ask your blessings,  
Bring to me the Golden Light!"  
  
A pair of wings sprouted from my back and a golden light pierced through the   
clouds and shone on Tomoyo and Eriol. There was a bright flash, a shower of   
feathers and then a sudden eruption of colors then... everything went blank.  
  
"Thank You, Sakura." I heard Tomoyo's gentle voice before I finally blacked out.  
  
  
  
  
to be continued 


	34. Chapter 34

Disclaimer: I do not own and will never own Card Captor Sakura (though I wish I did) it is owned by CLAMP. This author is merely borrowing so please don't sue me!!!^_^;  
  
  
  
  
Fated Circle: Four Sacred Treasures of Earth  
  
  
~Part 7  
Light  
Chapter 34  
  
  
I woke up to the sounds of morning with regained strength and energy. I was me  
again. I was whole. Beautiful golden rays of sunlight flood my recognizable room   
in Tomoyo's Mansion. I can guess pretty well that either Mr. Reed or my father   
himself teleported us back here, along with the Averins. No use in flying again   
for four days when you have two master magicians around.  
  
"Good morning Lady Sakura!" Rika's familiar voice greeted me.  
  
I rose from my bed and smiled at her. *Still looking the same and healthy* I   
thought. "Good morning, Rika. I see you woke up on the right side of the bed   
today."  
  
"Oui! Try an' guez vhat happened yezterde before you came!" she asked excitedly.  
  
I already knew, of course, because of my newly-regained mind-reading skills.   
But, I played my part. "What?" I asked in the same excited manner (because I   
really was excited!), "tell me!"  
  
She smiled shyly and blushed. "Yoshi - Yoshiyuki Terada - came zhis morning an'   
gave me a bouquet of flowers an' asked for my 'and in marriage!"  
  
I immediately jumped out of bed as planned and ran to her to shake her hand and   
embrace her. "That's great Rika! Congratulations!" I told her.  
  
She hugged me fiercely and released me. She was crying for joy, I knew, because   
of this news. I know that Tomoyo had already agreed to terms since Rika is really   
overjoyed. "An' you know vhat?" she asked,  
  
"What?"  
  
"Lady Tomoyo is going to REALLY shower our vedding by letting 'er arrange my   
gown an' pay for all ze fees!" she told me, still crying.  
  
I smiled even more sweetly. "Don't forget me, I'll be your flower girl!" I   
joked. She wiped away a tear and nodded her head in reply to my obvious joke (I   
WAS too OLD to become a flower-girl anyway).  
  
"I guez I should leeve you now, I'd better be going!" she said, waving her hand   
as she closed the door. "'ave a nice day!"  
  
I smiled and sighed after she left. I sat in front of the dresser and started to   
comb my hair. *She sure had got her day right up!* I thought. Suddenly, there was   
soft rapping on my door. "Enter." I said.  
  
"Good morning Sakura." Syaoran's all-too-familiar voice greeted me.  
  
I turned around to face him. "Good morning!" I smiled.  
  
He walked over to me as I resumed by brushing. He put both of his hands on my   
shoulders and put his head beside mine. "How does a visit to the Sea Park sound   
like?" he asked.  
  
I looked at him, kissed his lips lightly and embraced him. "Grand!" I said.  
  
  
Later on, about mid-morning, Syaoran left with me to the Sea Park. He was wearing   
a loose-collared white shirt, a brown vest and matching brown pants that were   
held by a black belt. Me, I wore a white, short-sleeved top with around collar   
and a long and blue flowing skirt and white shoes. As for my hair, I just let it   
hang loose since it was on of those cooler days.  
  
The Sea Park was just a few blocks away, north from the mansion. It was a natural   
cove-made reserve that housed a wonderful array of fishes and corals. It is   
world-renowned and highly praised. It is not housed in a building, but the   
caretakers protect it with Magic so that they can grow in their natural habitat.  
  
"Lovely." I said as I stared into the cove that had crystalline sapphire waters   
and wonderful corals that made a wonderful, natural maze as you headed towards   
the deeper parts of the ocean.  
  
I felt Syaoran smile at me and breathe a good amount of air. "the air is good   
too." He says.  
  
We both look at each other and smile. We remove our shoes and Syaoran makes them   
disappear magically. We weren't here just to look at this wonder. We were going   
to go though the maze and into the deep. People were allowed to go swimming in   
the water just as long they don't hurt the corals or any other marine life anyway.  
  
We both laugh as me made our way through anemones, fan corals and brain corals   
splashing water into the other's faces and trying to make the other fall.  
  
It got even better when we passed the maze.  
  
Syaoran and I swam through the water, racing each other and splashing water into   
the other's face while we rise to the surface to get some air. We almost laughed   
our lungs out when while Syaoran was taking in air, I suddenly push him towards   
an incoming wave. Thoroughly energized, he chased me through the water and   
tickles me silly when he finally caught me.  
  
"I give up! I give up!" I shouted in between my fits of laughter.  
  
Syaoran relaxes his tight embrace on me and just holds me close, looking at me   
silently while smiling as I squeezed the final bits of laughter trapped in my   
stream.  
  
It was already sunset and it was beautiful to watch.  
  
"I can't believe we spent a whole day here without going out of the water!" he   
says softly.  
  
I give out a soft chuckle. "I guess we were too occupied."  
  
"look at my hands!" he said, raising his wrinkle-skinned hand.  
  
"I never knew you cared!" I said sarcastically. He looks at me with a sly grin   
and tickles me for a while until I hear his stomach grumble. "look... you...   
must... be... hungry..." I said with a smile in between gasps of air.  
  
He smiles at me. "I guess I am. WE haven't eaten since breakfast, you know." He   
replies. Slowly, Syaoran lifts me out of the water and we fly to a nearby cliff.   
Luckily for us, no one was there.   
  
After a few moments of rest, I conjure up a small little feast. Syaoran ate   
hungrily and I grew hungry too and decided to eat as hungrily as he was, but a   
bit more carefully.  
  
"I'm glad you're back." He said, after taking a nice drink of water.  
  
I smile at him. The golden rays of the fading sun give him a handsome glow and   
made his eyes more amber than ever. "I'm glad too." I replied. Syaoran moved   
closer and we kissed long and deep. After that, we stare into each other's eyes   
and then turn back at the fading sunset.  
  
"You taste like roasted chicken with gravy." I told him as I was looking at him   
with a giggle.  
  
He turns to me and replies, "You taste like that too."  
  
"That was my most favorite dish." I told him.  
  
"Same here." He replies.  
  
Silence.  
  
We then burst into a soft laughter.  
  
After stopping and taking a few rests by staring into each other's eyes, Syaoran  
said, "I'm just glad you're back again."  
  
  
  
  
  
to be continued 


	35. Suzaku : Part 8 Chapter 35

Disclaimer: I do not own and will never own Card Captor Sakura (though I wish I did) it is owned by CLAMP. This author is merely borrowing so please don't sue me!!!^_^;  
  
a/n: I apologize for the long upload. It has been a *very* hard week. Busy schedules everywhere.  
I'm also going to apologize right now for such a short and boring chapter. I'm try to make it better  
next time.  
  
  
Fated Circle: Four Sacred Treasures of Earth  
  
  
~Part 8  
Suzaku: The whip of the firebird  
Chapter 35  
  
  
In the lavishly decorated living room, my Father, Mr. Reed, Tomoyo, Eriol,   
Syaoran and I panned on our next move. My hopes would definitely signal the   
improvement of any plan because of the return of my memory and my father and   
Mr. Reed's presence.  
  
"The Fort will be harder to infiltrate since our escape." Syaoran says as   
he paced the floor. "More shadow guards everywhere."  
  
Ahh yes, the Shadow guards how could anyone forget those things? Those cat-  
like creatures with distorted faces that looked like a mixed breed of human   
and animal whose face was thrown with acid. My old Sakura had a close encounter   
with that one, if Syaoran hadn't killed it first.  
  
"We don't have to worry about the Shadowens." Mr. Reed speaks out. He steps   
forward and adjusts his glasses. "The Shadowens are easy to beat with Sakura   
here. Don't forget that she's from the Seraph Clan." I notice father smiling   
proudly at me though it wasn't him who contained the Seraph blood, it was my   
mother.  
  
(The Seraph Clan is a clan of winged people gifted with the powers of nature.  
My mother, Nadesiko, was a part of this clan and was of royal blood. However,  
since the rise of the Dark Lord, the clan has been driven almost to extinction.  
Thus, they hid themselves from humanity. In one of my father's travels however,  
my father met my mother and they fell in love. At first it was hard for them  
both but when the emperor realized that my father was of the Royal Even Family  
of the Kingdom of Salacia, he gladly accepted their marriage. My older brother  
inherited most of my father's elven gifts and my mother's spirit-seeing ability  
while I inherited the powers of Light, which was my mother's element.)  
  
Tomoyo frowns. "That is true," she says, after taking a sip from her tea,   
"Sakura is from the Seraph Clan. But that won't help us much. Shadowens are   
the fortress' first line of defense. There are still others - much more   
horrible than that."  
  
Mr. Reed laughs heartily, which momentarily confuses Tomoyo. I wondered   
myself, what WAS to laugh about?  
  
"My dear, dear Tomoyo can you not see? The only person you are looking for,   
the once chosen by the Suzaku, is living in the castle walls itself! Syaoran,   
I'm surprised you haven't seen this yet." He told us.  
  
"Living within the castle walls?" I voiced out. Mr. Reed nodded at me.   
Everyone was silent, waiting for Syaoran's answer. I myself thought of who   
it could have been. I thought of all the slaves that I have met before and   
realized that it was impossible to say. I've met so many people already.   
Then, one name emerged from all the chaos that was in my head:  
  
Meiling.  
  
"You mean Meiling?" both Syaoran and I said at the same time.   
  
Mr. Reed nodded his head. "That girl, yes. It seems that the lord Orochi   
had succeeded in hiding her carefully. Poor thing."  
  
"We have to go there and save her then." Eriol suddenly said.  
  
*If that will be our plan,* my father spoke up for the first time this   
meeting, *then you should plan what you are going to do now, so that when   
you go there, you can just retrieve Meiling and defeat the lord at once.*  
  
"I wish it was all that easy, my friend. But it is not." Mr. Reed said   
sadly. "Like Syaoran said, it would be foolish to just make up a plan. The   
guards in that particular castle have no pattern at all. It would be very   
difficult indeed."  
  
"Then why not just go there? If we don't have a plan, then we'd be flexible.   
Not even a surprise attack can hinder us." I told them.  
  
Tomoyo looked at me. "That's too unruly. It will also be difficult to move   
without a plan."  
  
I stood up and paced back and fourth. "I don't think so. I think that we'd   
be able to move quite freely. The castle was my home for many years since I   
forgot my memory and I know much of its secrets. Believe me, that place has   
more crevices than a face of a mountain." I told them and stopped pacing.  
  
"If my memory serves me right, there should be a dungeon pass underneath my   
room." Syaoran said.  
  
"Not only that." I added, "There's a labyrinth underneath and around the   
dungeons too."  
  
"Don't tell me that you're planning to use that maze in order to go in the   
castle!" Eriol exclaimed.  
  
"The labyrinth around the dungeons is easy," I told them, "I've gone through   
that one. However, the one underneath the dungeon is a different story."  
  
*What are you trying to say?* father asked.  
  
"What I'm saying is that, we'll just pass by the maze around the dungeon,   
then the dungeon pass, Syaoran's room, then voila! You're inside. The dungeon   
guards are easy since there are no other guards there but the regulars anyway."  
  
"That's the plan?" Mr. Reed asked. I nodded my head. "I guess it will have   
to do. Any oppositions?"  
  
No one answered.  
  
"Fine then, that will be our plan. Until then, we'll have to train you all   
with the use of your powers. I'm amazed that you even survived that battle   
with Syaoran's shadow with you only aware of a quarter of your true abilities!"   
Mr. Reed said.  
  
"A quarter?" Tomoyo said unbelievingly.  
  
Mr. Reed smiled. "my dear, give me a week and I'll turn you all into gods."  
  
  
  
to be continued 


	36. Chapter 36

Disclaimer: I do not own and will never own Card Captor Sakura (though I wish I did) it is owned by CLAMP. This author is merely borrowing so please don't sue me!!!^_^;  
  
a/n: *looks at angry crowd*  
"I know, I know... I'm late again....gomen....."  
  
  
Fated Circle: Four Sacred Treasures of Earth  
  
  
~Part 8  
Suzaku: The whip of the firebird  
Chapter 36  
  
  
Mr. Reed did as he promised. He gave us really heavy training regarding our powers.  
It was very individualized, which made me wonder how much Mr. Reed knew of these   
things.  
  
Our training was mostly composed of restraining our powers and releasing it,   
hiding our auras, boosting our powers, discovering new abilities and the usual   
sparring and physical stuff. It was the last day of training and it was also the   
most exhausting. By the end of the day, we certainly felt like a vegetable.  
  
We were all resting by the garden fountain and, with the help of Tomoyo's   
water-based and Eriol's earth-based powers, made a pool into which we wallowed   
and swam in.  
  
"I think I'll never remove this pool." Tomoyo said while she relaxed, floating   
on the water surface. The pool was at least fifteen feet in the deepest part,   
five feet in the shallowest part and at least thirteen feet across, with smooth   
rocks lining the sides. The water from the fountain, which was to the left of the   
pool, cascaded down its own pools into the new pool and the plants that surrounded   
the place became bigger until the limbs of the trees crossed so that it looked   
like the place was indoors.  
  
"Why should you?" I said, "This is luxury..." I trailed off, as my skin brushed   
against Tomoyo's because we were both floating aimlessly.  
  
The men were just sitting on the stair in the shallowest part of the pool, buried   
in their own thoughts.  
  
Just then, I felt Mr. Reed's aura enter the place.  
  
"Resting, I see... and you even used your powers." He said.  
  
I opened my eyes and fixed myself back into swimming position. Tomoyo and I had   
floated towards the middle part of the pool. "How did you know?"  
  
"I heard your incantations. But you better use those powers wisely. The goddess   
Zoë knows what you're doing with it and if you use it the wrong way... POOF! No   
more powers." He told us, clapping his hands at the moment he spoke the 'poof'   
word.  
  
"I'm sure the goddess wouldn't mind this." Eriol reasoned.  
  
I swam towards the men and looked at Mr. Reed. He looked tired like us. "Why don't you hop in? It's very relaxing!"  
  
"No thanks. I have my own way of relaxing." He replied smiling. "You just rest.   
Tomorrow, we go ahead with our plan that Dark Lord has already been reigning for   
too long already."  
  
"I couldn't agree with you more." Tomoyo said from afar, still floating.  
  
At that moment, I thought I felt a subtle change in Syaoran's mood (well, you   
know what they say about lovers - or husbands and wives - have this telepathic   
link to one another). I didn't ask anything about it, after all, we all deserved   
to relax.  
  
  
That night though, just before we slept, I asked him about it.  
  
"Change? What change? I was sleeping there!" he said with a smile.  
  
I looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "Oh come on, don't kid me. I know you were   
awake and I also know that you were affected by what someone said." I told him.   
Syaoran had his back facing me so I couldn't tell what his facial expression was   
in the odd silence that followed.  
  
"Let's just sleep." He said, and I just stopped bugging him about it since he   
really seems to be bothered by it. But then, just as I was all cuddled up in his   
arms, he suddenly said, "It's about father."  
  
I looked up at him and saw that his eyes were already closed. I knew at once   
that he didn't want to discuss the topic further. I closed my own eyes and   
thought.  
  
After all, the Dark Lord Orochi was his father.  
  
  
The next day, we fixed up our gear (which composed of food, mostly) and prepared   
the Averins. We figured that teleporting to the place might be a bad idea since   
there'll be some magic warding the place now. But we were luckier this time, since   
not all of us would be riding on an Averin.  
  
Mr. Reed and my father would be flying on my own and so would I. You see, during   
the training, Mr. Reed had made my wings (Mom's traits - two pairs even) appear.   
He trained me for a while into getting used to it and I've gotten the hang of it   
now. But, just for safety, we would be attached to the birds with a line that   
Eriol would make with the help of Iridyss. I've seen the rope myself and it was   
as thick as one hair strand. Not much but Eriol even let us pull a boulder with   
it to ensure that it was perfectly safe.  
  
"Shall we?" I asked them, making my wings appear with a flurry of white feathers.  
  
"Can't you make those wings appear without the feathers flying about?" Syaoran   
asked, pushing some feathers away from him and smiling.  
  
My father laughed. *I don't think Sakura can do that as of today.*  
  
"Well, let's go!" Eriol said as he let Thunderstorm fly. The line that was   
attached to Mr. Reed, as he was attached to Thunderstorm while my father and I   
were attached to Shadowbane, elongated - as Eriol said it would.  
  
"I guess I have to take flight as well." Mr. reed said as he launched himself   
into the air with a jump.  
  
"Let's go." Syaoran said, and we were all airborne.  
  
  
  
to be continued 


	37. Chapter 37

Disclaimer: I do not own and will never own Card Captor Sakura (though I wish I did) it is owned by CLAMP. This author is merely borrowing so please don't sue me!!!^_^;  
  
  
  
  
Fated Circle: Four Sacred Treasures of Earth  
  
  
~Part 8  
Suzaku: The whip of the firebird  
Chapter 37  
  
  
We reached the port town of Maremaris by the end of the second day, as Momiji wasn't  
far from Romealy. Shadowbane landed first, followed by Thunderstorm. We didn't rest  
and we just let the Averins stay by the shore. The two birds, as Syaoran and Eriol  
both said, would know how to take care of themselves.  
  
After searching the town to borrow three Dune Rovers, we rode across the desert.  
We had to reach the castle and finish our job quick enough. Besides, it would be  
to our advantage if we traveled the desert while still dark.  
  
After two days travel (with a few stop-overs here and there) we reached the southern  
edge of Romealy castle's garden.  
  
"Okay. We're here. Let's get going." Syaoran told us, already inside the garden.  
  
I turned to look on the others. It was pretty obvious that they were exhausted. Even  
I was exhausted. "Syaoran! Wait!" I told him, following him inside. He didn't get  
too far before I stopped him.   
  
"What?" he asked.  
  
As I looked into his face, and it too showed exhaustion. "Let's take a break we've  
been traveling with little and almost no rest at all." His was about to say something  
when I cut him off. "Besides, the entrance to the labyrinth lies not far on the edge."  
  
"Okay then." he answered, put his arms around my shoulders and we walked back.  
  
  
We rested for a few hours until it was agreed that it was time that we acted. I  
led the way, going north-west following the signs that led to the entrance that  
only I knew about. And after walking only a few miles, I found what I was looking  
for. It was a tree, an oak, whose body width was wide enough for two full-grown  
men to stand in and whose height out stood all other trees surrounding it. Any  
passer-by would surely mistake it for another tree in the woods, unless they noticed  
that it only had a small amount of leaves on it. But because the limbs of the other  
branches criss-crossed with this tree's, it was very hard to discern.  
  
"Here we are!" I told them softly but loud enough for the others at the back to  
hear.  
  
"Where?" Eriol asked.  
  
Tomoyo's head looked here and there. Others had the same confused look.  
  
I just led them to the tree. "Here." I said, and then touched the bark of the tree,  
making it ripple.  
  
"Illusion..." Tomoyo said softly.  
  
Mr. Reed and my father looked at it wide-eyed. "I didn't even feel the presence  
of the magic." Mr. Reed said, "amazing!"  
  
"Let's just go inside." I told them. "Time's a-wasting."  
  
  
We entered the tree illusion which led to an old tunnel. It was very dusty inside,  
with lots of cobwebs here and there to boot. I figured that no one had found out  
about this place after Chiharu died, since the dust wasn't disturbed in any way, and  
it was still very thick. And very dark.  
  
I summoned my wand to me, as it gave off its own luminescent light.  
  
"Whew! I thought no one thought of doing that." I heard Tomoyo, who was behind  
me, say.  
  
"How are you going to know which way is where?" Eriol asked.  
  
I looked at him at the back but turned to face where I was going again. I couldn't  
see him back at the back since it was too dark. Then I told him, "there's only one  
way here. All other walls are brick-filled. This is the only path we can take." And  
then I think I heard a sigh of relief somewhere... Syaoran, perhaps?  
  
  
After a couple of hours of silent walking, I made them halt.  
  
"What's wrong?" Tomoyo asked.  
  
I put a hand gently on Tomoyo's mouth and shushed the others. I heard the sound of  
footsteps and the origin was very familiar to me. Soon enough, the others heard it  
too. The klangking of their armor echoed on the walls in and around the passageway.  
Soon, even their voices were loud enough to hear.  
  
"Hah! Stupid slave girl! Doing her evil magic to try and hurt the lord." A deep  
and monster-like voice said.  
  
"I don't know what even went into her mind to make her do that." Another voice,  
an octave higher than the first, replied.  
  
There was silence then the deep-voiced guard spoke again. "She was a pretty girl  
though. What's her name again?"  
  
"Melen...I think." the other replied. The footsteps got louder and the voices  
came closer. Then it stopped. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" the same  
guard asked.  
  
There was a snicker then an abrupt stop. "...but her magics..."  
  
"Nah! The Lord sealed them remember?" the snickering became laughter.  
  
"Let's get her. But let's not hurry. She won't get far with us using this." the  
hoarse laughter came again and the gurads resumed walking to whatever direction they  
were headed.  
  
We were all silent for a while and then I looked at them. "What do you think?"  
  
"Meiling?" Tomoyo said behind me.  
  
"And I suppose that "evil magic" is the Suzaku's power." Syaoran said.  
  
Before any other comments were made, a pentagon appeared on the right section of  
the wall. *Go though it.* It was my father's voice and we all looked at him, who  
was smiling. *Go on, they're moving away and we don't have much time.*  
  
  
And before we knew it, we were following the two guards to where "Melen" or  
Meiling is. It was a great gamble we were taking, since we don't know for sure  
wether the guards just mispronounced the name or really is talking of another person.  
It was really a big gamble.  
  
Suddenly, Tomoyo called us to a halt.  
  
"What?" Eriol asked.  
  
Tomoyo looked at him and said, "don't you notice something?" He shook his head.  
"Nothing missing? nothing wrong?" she asked again. Eriol nodded again. "That's  
exactly it! there's _nothing wrong_ no klanking of armor, no noisy muttering,  
no faint light - NOTHING!"  
  
For a breif moment, we all just stared at her before we all realized what she  
said. I gasped and Syaoran cursed Mr. Reed and my father shook their heads and  
sighed.  
  
Then there was lughter, an insulting kind of laughter.  
  
He looked at each other, only to find out that not one of us was laughing.  
  
"Lost?" a voice, which was everywhere at the same time said, loud and billowing.  
  
Syaoran's face became a mask of anger. "Father!" he shouted.  
  
"I see you can still recognize my voice...son." the Dark Lord's voice replied,  
the last word thrown out like a spit.  
  
"What do you want?" Mr. Reed asked in a calm tone.  
  
"Nothing really," he replied, "as you can see, you are now lost in the main  
chambers of the Labyrinth - mislead by my illusion." Syaoran punched the wall.  
"I have my intelligences and knew of your coming. I knew where the entrance to  
the dungeon labyrinth is and used it to my advantage. Now, all I'll have to  
do is watch you get more lost day by day until you rot!!" he shouted, "Oh, about  
your friend, she is still unaware of her powers and is still in the castle.."  
then he laughed and then the voice faded away.  
  
"COME OUT YOU COWARD!" Syaoran shouted, there came no reply.  
  
"We've been trapped..." I heard Tomoyo say weakly, "We've been trapped!"  
  
  
  
  
  
to be continued 


	38. Chapter 38

Disclaimer: I do not own and will never own Card Captor Sakura (though I wish I did) it is owned by CLAMP. This author is merely borrowing so please don't sue me!!!^_^;  
  
note: I can guess that there will be a lot (luck me if there's none) of grammatical   
and spelling mistakes on this chap. I was kinda lazy to look it up already...  
  
  
Fated Circle: Four Sacred Treasures of Earth  
  
  
~Part 8  
Suzaku: The whip of the firebird  
Chapter 38  
  
  
Eriol paled immediately after that. So did my father and Mr. Reed. Who wouldn't?  
we were hopelessly lost in a maze - the main Labyrinth to be precise - with no   
possible way out.  
  
"How about using a spell?" Eriol suggested.  
  
"No use. The magic is sealed off here. I tried it." Syaoran replied. "I just   
hate him!" he then shouted, suddenly punching the wall and making it crack.  
  
I touched a wall with a hand and saw how helpless we were right now. We could   
just get lost here and die of hunger… if no one would turn cannibal amongst us.   
But even if one did, that person would still be hopelessly lost in this maze.  
  
"Let's just head toward this direction. We did come from this direction." Mr.   
Reed said, pointing to my left.  
  
"But that will be a problem." I said, "I heard that some paths here crisscross   
one another. What if we were just circling around? What if this is the exit?" I   
asked them, pointing at the opposite direction.  
  
Syaoran slumped on the floor. "There's got to be a way!"  
  
Tomoyo, who was silent for a while, suddenly shouted, "I DID IT!"  
  
Everyone looked at her at once.  
  
"What's up?" Syaoran asked.  
  
Tomoyo looked at us hopefully and smiled. "I'm not just an enchantress for   
nothing!" she said, "come closer! Hurry!"  
  
We all gathered around her and saw what she was doing. In her hand was a small   
blue vial, so small that it could fit in the palm of your hands, containing a   
liquid of some sort. Tomoyo was really excited about it, waiting for all of us to   
come closer before she finally said a word.  
  
"This is a potion I just conjured. It's a good thing that I managed to find a   
breech it the magic system. If I'm not mistaken, this should contain a potion   
that would let us see our previous actions like ghosts. Maybe, if we follow it,   
we'd be able to find our way out!"  
  
"Wait…what do you mean by 'if I'm not mistaken'?" I asked.  
  
Tomoyo stood up. "I'm not sure because, what if the magic field covering this   
area managed to scramble, if not block my powers? - that's the reason why I'm not   
sure."   
  
*Whatever it may be, it would be worth the try.* My father said.  
  
"Okay then, everybody, cross your fingers!" Tomoyo said as she opened the vial   
and then spilled the contents on the floor.  
  
A light mist immediately covered the area we were in and as soon as it disappeared,   
ghostly figures hung all around the area like colored sheets on a clothes line.   
My 'actions' were light pink, Syaoran's green, Tomoyo's blue, Eriol's yellow, Mr.   
Reed's gray and my father's white.  
  
"Alright! Now, all we have to do is to follow these things!" Eriol shouted.  
  
We wasted no time into following our figures until most of it was half-swallowed   
by the wall. Father didn't hesitate and just casted the spell that enabled us to   
go through the wall. The rest - like they say - was history. We were back on the   
path that I so frequently memorized when I still lived in these parts. As soon as   
we reached the exit and went out, another meeting was made.  
  
"Whew! That was close!" Tomoyo exclaimed.  
  
*No more time for rest now.* My father said, *he knows that we're here so there's   
no more use for stealth and the element of surprise.*  
  
"I agree with that." Mr. Reed readily said.  
  
"Well then, let's not make them wait any longer shall we?" I asked them and Mr.   
Reed raised an arm which was glowing with power. "Let's go!" I raised my staff   
and we teleported into the castle.  
  
  
We weren't prepared for what would happen next.  
  
"Meiling!" I shouted as soon as I saw her severely wounded and bloody body.  
  
We all rushed to her, bathing in her own blood and - amazingly - still alive and   
kicking. Apparently, we had landed in her room without even knowing it. She   
smiled when she realized that someone was cradling her head gently. Her eyes,   
the once lively flaming eyes were now pale and lifeless.  
  
"I t-thought… I w-woul-d-dn't m-ma-k-ke it…" she said weakly.  
  
"hush… everything will be fine now. I'll heal you." I told her.  
  
"S-sak-kura?" she smiled again, "heh - it s-seems t-th-that y-you made it t-too."  
  
I fought tears that threatened to overflow. "y-yes."  
  
"I'm glad."  
  
Tomoyo spoke up. "I think it's about time to heal you." she said.  
  
"N-no… I wou-wouldn't make it anyway…" she said, coughing blood afterwards.  
  
Syaoran punched the floor violently. "Don't be so foolish! We can still save   
you! now keep still!" he shouted.  
  
"Shut up! Syaoran!" she shouted, causing her to cough once again, "w-we both   
k-know that I won't m-make it!"  
  
I looked at Syaoran. He was looking at the floor, shaking his head in disagreement.   
"S-syaoran?" I gently said his name.  
  
He looked up at me. His amber eyes were sad and overflowing with tears. Somehow,   
he knew that she was right and then, I immediately, but gently, placed Meiling's   
head on Tomoyo's lap.  
  
"S-sakura?"  
  
I ignored her and raised my staff that had fallen on the floor. I was preparing   
to cast a healing spell when Syaoran stopped me. I violently tried to shake him   
off but in vain. "Let go!" I shouted, "Let go! We can still save her!" warm tears   
rolled down my cheeks.  
  
He cupped my face in his hands and gently made me look in his eyes. He shook his   
head. "Healing her would only make things worse. The spell they cast on her is   
called the Black Plague - it turns offensive spells more menacing and healing   
spells offensive. Nothing would do her any good."  
  
"B-but we need her!..." I said, trying to argue things out. It just really   
couldn't be.  
  
He shook his head once more and embraced me tightly. I cried openly on his chest.  
  
"c-can you j-just promise me one … thing?" she asked, her voice weaker than   
before.  
  
I quickly kneeled by her side and held her hand. "Yes, what is it?"  
  
"Kill him for me."  
  
She died with a smile on her face.  
  
Her body glowed a bright red and her body went up in flames. Tomoyo wasn't hurt   
but she was surprised the moment the flames appeared. The flames gathered itself   
and floated high above us. It swirled and swirled and slowly, as the fire weakened,   
descended on the flood and disappered, leaving a pile of ashes behind.  
  
"M-meiling."  
  
The moment I said her name, the ashes glowed and flamed up once more, this time   
when it floated into the air, it became a majestic bird with large flaming wings   
and long tail that glittered on the ends. It had a golden crest and beak and   
flaming eyes. It was a phoenix.  
  
The phoenix then landed on the shoulders of my father.  
  
"My. You did have a way with birds before, Fujitaka." Mr. Reed said.  
  
*I guess I still have it.* he replied smiling.  
  
Eriol stood up, helping Tomoyo as well. "Let's get going then, let's kick some   
monster butt!"  
  
The door immediately opened to show us a host of monsters that were waiting for   
us beyond the door.  
  
"Let's go!" I shouted.  
  
The final battle finally had begun.  
  
  
  
  
  
to be continued 


	39. Final Battle : Part 9 Chapter 39

Disclaimer: I do not own and will never own Card Captor Sakura (though I wish I did) it is owned by CLAMP. This author is merely borrowing so please don't sue me!!!^_^;  
  
  
  
Fated Circle: Four Sacred Treasures of Earth  
  
  
~Part 9  
Final Battle  
Chapter 39  
  
  
The fight was easy and not that though. We hacked and slashed our way through   
the horde easily without the help of any type of magic. I guess that Meiling's   
death really fired us up, but I can't really tell. It was a mix of emotions for   
me: anger, sorrow, fear…it seemed like I was made up of pure feelings.  
  
We walked a long and empty hallway. It was pretty surprising but I guess that   
all of those creatures were supposed to be guarding this place. While we walked,   
Syaoran suddenly stopped. Others moved on forward but I stopped.  
  
"What's wrong?" I asked him.  
  
He looked up at me, his amber eyes blazing with a new light. "Do you know why we   
fight him?" he asked.  
  
I looked at him puzzled, and said, "To end his tyranny, of course." I glanced at   
the others to see that they also had stopped and were waiting for us on the spot   
where they had stopped.  
  
He smiled a humorless smile. "Things…we all have a way of fighting things…" he   
said, confusing me, "He was never like that before… no… not before…" he murmured.  
  
"He?" I asked.  
  
"Father." He looked at the floor and back at me. "Do you know that I'm the   
source of all this pain?" I looked at him wide-eyed and was about to say   
something when he continued speaking. "Don't say a word. I can't stand holding   
this secret any longer. Will you listen?"  
  
I smiled at him kindly and replied, "of course." I looked at the others and   
signaled them to rest and wait a while and we stepped nearer to the wall and sat   
there.  
  
He breathed in deeply. I can guess pretty well that he had been keeping this   
secret from us for a long time already. He was very bothered by it, and already   
beads of sweat had started to form on his forehead. "When I was young," he   
started, "dad was really great to everyone. I mean, really. Mom was doing well   
with my other siblings and the pay for my father's work was enough for all of us.   
One day, Princess Chikyuu called for him - do you know why?" he asked, I shook my   
head. "She was his younger sister."  
  
I leaned against the wall and looked at the opposite wall. I was too stunned to   
react.  
  
"Yes. It may be hard to believe but it's true. Ever since then, we lived here.   
That's when I saw you. But I often kept away from other people - as father would   
never let me out of my room. And that was because of my powers. I was aware of it   
and I didn't know how to control it, which made me a threat to everyone else. So,   
you never saw me." He took a deep breath.  
  
I looked at him. He was staring at his hands.  
  
"At the age of seven I killed an abusive cook in this palace when I was angered   
at how he treated the cooks." He sighed. "After that, I was always kept in a   
locked room."  
  
"Must be tough."  
  
He shook his head. "No. actually, it was better that way - because I could have   
killed father if I knew what he was doing. You know what they say - 'power   
corrupts' and no matter how kind a person is, he will always be affected. That   
was the case with my father." He breathed deeply again, "he killed ma and my   
brothers and sisters including princess Chikyuu - after he had finished studying   
the dark arts. His evilness then became an obsession - why? - It was because of   
me and my power. His evil side managed to separate from him and tried to possess   
me but naturally, my father wouldn't have that."  
  
"He loves you very much." I managed to say.  
  
"After he realized that he killed almost all of his family? Who wouldn't? But   
because of that, he let the evil possess him and rule over him again, chaining   
the spirit to his body until they merged and distorted each other." He smiled   
bitterly. "I could have defeated that evil a long time ago while it was still   
weak, but no. I didn't stop it. I hated my father though he saved me because he   
killed my mother, brothers and sisters. I wanted the spirit to consume him until   
he was driven mad and finally end his life himself. But the evil, as I found out,   
is not dumb. It is sly and cunning. It made my father a slave, driving him to   
madness - keeping him on the edge but never letting him fall. I hate myself."  
  
I looked at him and embraced him. "Don't blame yourself. You were just a little   
child! You wouldn't know what it would mean!"  
  
I felt his muscles tense up. "But I did. I knew. Byakko showed me. I didn't   
listen."  
  
I only hugged him tighter then held him at arm's length. "That only proves how   
childish you were." I told him, "I would act the same way if that happened to me.   
Don't let this consume you! Fight it! Remember, we're always here to help you   
along the way."  
  
He embraced me tightly and I reciprocated it with the same magnitude. "Thank   
you, Sakura. Thank you."  
  
"Now let's go shall we? We can't let them wait for us for this long can't we?   
They'll leave us!"  
  
He smiled a genuine smile. "Let's."  
  
  
We were unchallenged as we went along the halls. Questionable, you might say,   
but that's how it was. The phoenix perched itself comfortably and my father's   
shoulder, unmoving. Even during the battles. It only flew up high and did nothing   
more. Sometimes, I even wondered why it was there at all.  
  
And then, we stopped before a large metal door.  
  
Syaoran was the first to touch it. "He's here. He waited. The old fool." He   
said.  
  
My father put a hand on Syaoran's shoulder. *Are you sure you can do this? We   
don't know what tricks are up his sleeve.*  
  
Syaoran turned around to face my father and he grasped my father's hand tightly.   
"Thank you, sir. But I think I can do it. Besides, I'm not alone." He smiled at   
us and we smiled back. Then, turning around once again, he pushed the door open.  
  
We entered the abyss.  
  
  
~*~ Syaoran's POV~*~  
  
  
My heartbeat was faster than I had anticipated. I felt adrenalin rushing inside   
my system. It was the final battle, my final confrontation with the past.  
  
We walked a dimly lit stairwell that descended into the unknown. I never   
explored the castle that much, so I didn't know what to expect. I looked shortly   
at my beautiful wife, Sakura. Her emerald green eyes sparkled with hope. She gave   
me hope. I would defeat Orochi to make sure that he'll never try and harm her   
like before - when I was still half under his control.  
  
Actually, I still am. I just didn't tell the others. It would worry them more   
that I would like them to. And I believe that I can block off his calls - I did   
it twice before, though he almost succeeded into killing her - for good. The only   
person who knew about this little secret of mine is Clow Reed and Sakura's   
father, Mr. Fujitaka Kinomoto - but I'm fine with them knowing it.  
  
The stairway ended into a large roomy hall with black marble flooring. The   
ceiling was so high that you couldn't see it and the room was so wide you   
couldn't see the walls. It was like the stairway was right in the middle of the   
room or maybe, we landed into another dimension.  
  
As soon as the last one of us landed in the room, the stairwell disappeared and   
everything became ominous. I felt his presence nearby, trying to be menacing -   
but I wasn't scared. I knew well enough that the others weren't as well.  
  
At long last, he spoke, "Hah! Foolish little ones! Let by my foolish little son.   
How are you?"  
  
"Better than before and not pleased to see you still all shadowy." I replied.  
  
I could almost feel him smirk at me. "I'm glad to hear that. I see that you   
managed to escape the Labyrinth. Too bad. But I think it is now time for you to   
face the leviathan." A spotlight appeared out of nowhere before us and then   
booming steps of something big rocked the floor we stood upon. Then a head showed   
itself into the spotlight - a black dragon's head. "Hello son." It said.  
  
I smirked and laughed humorlessly. "I see you got yourself a new armor to fight   
us, father."  
  
Someone stepped beside me and held my hand. It was Sakura, her eyes' sparkle   
faltering a bit. "S-syaoran… is that really?" she asked, looking at me.  
  
I looked at the dragon head and it replied for me. "Indeed I am. My, how you've   
grown and I hear that your memories are back as well."  
  
I looked at Sakura and she faced the monster fearlessly. "Yes it is. And I don't   
see any reason why we should talk any further. Let's end this now!"  
  
My Sakura. My little angel. My little blossom - how I love her for what she is.   
I'll never let any harm go near her. I faced my father. "Let's fight." I said,   
echoing her thoughts.  
  
I felt the others stepping up to form a line. "Let's do it!" Eriol said.  
  
"It's time your reign ended." Tomoyo said.  
  
Mr. Fujitaka and Clow Reed said nothing but stared at him defiantly.  
  
"Fine then." He said and then he removed his head from the spotlight and made it   
disappear as well. "Let's play hide and go seek."  
  
"Always the cheater." I murmured.  
  
  
  
  
  
to be continued 


	40. Chapter 40

Disclaimer: I do not own CCS. 

a/n: GOMEN!!!!!! Sorry if it took so long for me to update!!! Many factors are involved and the no. 1 reason is my exams (our 2nd quarter Exams) …just gotta study you know…

Okay then, this will be the last installation of this fic, what I like to call as "The Grand Finale" and whatnot. I hope you'll like it though it is *quite* long – but not *that* long. Let's get on with the show!!! – Oh, before I forget, this chapter is going to start with Sakura's POV okay? Please don't be confused.

~*~

**_Fated Circle: Four Sacred Treasures of Earth_**

~Yumemi~

- Part 9 -

Final Battle

- Chapter 40 -

Pitch Black.

That's how I would describe our surroundings. Pitch black. And it wasn't any good that our enemy was as black as our surroundings and the fact that I, my father and Mr. Reed were the only people in the group who could see very well in it.

I saw how that dragon creature smiled as he saw the concentration of my comrades into pinpointing where he is – how loathing it was! I couldn't imagine that Syaoran's father would let himself be trapped inside this horrid thing. Then, it moved. I saw how my father and Mr. Reed were pretending not to see him, so I played along as well. And while doing that, I thought of how I could remove all this blackness. It was magically conjured – as the aura of the power used wasn't removed or cloaked.

I moved toward Syaoran. "Syaoran, he's just a few strides to your left and preparing to blow out dragon fire." I whispered in his ear. He looked at me surprisingly and I just winked at him. He smiled that very charming smile of his and drew his sword.

"Darn!" Eriol said from behind me. "I can't even feel his aura!"

"He's pretty good at hide-and-seek!" Tomoyo said.

I looked at them and saw that my father and Mr. Reed were walking toward them and when they reached them, whisper something in their ears. The two nodded and Tomoyo brought out her water saber and Eriol drew his lance from Iridyss.

"Jump when I say so…" I whispered again to Syaoran as I saw the dragon drew his breath. "One…two…three…JUMP!" we both jumped just in the nick of time to avoid the fire blast. When we landed, I saw the look of confusion on the enemy's face – but it didn't last long.

"Very good… or shall I say, very good night-vision?" the harsh voice of the dragon said.

"Nah, we just eat a lot of carrots." Mr. Reed said, smiling.

I saw the dragon smile. "Good for you then. But can you escape this?" all of a sudden the dragon opened its mouth and black creatures came out of it.

*_Shadowens!* my father shouted in our heads._

Tomoyo's water saber glowed. "I'll take care of this… Shockwave!" she shouted, raising her saber high and creating a ripple on the floor, spreading water and creating a series of violet rippling from the water that flowed from her saber. All shadowens that touched the ripple instantly exploded into nothingness.

"My turn…" I heard Syaoran murmur to himself and as quick as lightning, dashed towards the black dragon.

The dragon noticed this at once and it closed its mouth and flew up high. To my amazement and the dragon's, Syaoran jumped up after him.

"_Wind slasher!" Syaoran shouted, slashing upward. A wide arc of almost invisible wind flew high to catch up to the dragon as it flew higher and higher and finally, slash it on the left wing – sending it stumbling downwards and land awkwardly at the same time that Syaoran landed on his two feet with practiced precision._

The dragon stood on its four limbs, folding his wings slowly and carefully. "h-how?" it asked.

"I'm your _son_ – _your_ _flesh and blood_. I can _feel_ you **father**, in a way that others can't" Syaoran said.

Then, just then, I remembered what I could do to remove this darkness. I called upon my staff which had its own light and raised it high.

"What are you trying to do? Light this infinity with your puny wand?" the monster mocked.

"No." I replied sternly, "I'll summon something that can do just that… **Light, release and dispel!**" I shouted. And my staff glowed brilliantly as the Light was summoned from its confinement. Just as soon at she was out, all darkness was pushed away; leaving only a brilliant – but not the type that was too painful for the eyes – white. And in the whiteness, the black dragon stood out like a large ink blot on a piece of white paper.

"Well now, what do we have here?" I heard Tomoyo say, "a blot of ink I see… and I just hate unnecessary blots. I guess it's time to do some cleaning!"

"I'm with you!" Eriol added.

Tomoyo and Eriol dashed past me and the Light, weapons in ready and Syaoran came following after them. Tomoyo, who was leading, attacked first. Her saber was spinning in her hand while the ring of water that surrounded it materialized and solidified.

"Humph… foolish mortals…" the dragon said, raising its wings high and then wrapping itself around with it. And suddenly, it became a small black ball and if formed a male human figure – tall and forbidding. "Let's play then." He said, his blood-shot eyes glowing like hot coals.

"Ring Boomerang!" Tomoyo said, throwing her icicle-surrounded saber.

The male figure just looked at it and in his hands formed a red-glowing whip. In a single strike, he countered Tomoyo's attack and hit her as well. But then, he was caught by surprise as the ground below him exploded. I looked at Eriol, who was smiling triumphantly.

"Wind Slasher!" Syaoran shouted again, sending a fury of shots.

Beside me, I can feel the Light's energy slightly grow weaker. "Are you okay?" I asked. The Light smiled and nodded. And then I decided to join them in the fight. "**Arrow, Release and Dispel!**" I shouted.

The tall figure jumped back and stood tall. That's when I realized how he really looked like an older version of Syaoran – though with flaming red eyes and jet black hair. Though it wasn't how I saw Lord Orochi before – as I remembered him as **really** ugly and fat. He avoided all of the Arrow's shots with ease.

"Is that all you've got?" he asked, then looked at Syaoran, "**Is this _all_ you've got?**"

I could see clearly that Syaoran was infuriated when he suddenly dashed toward him. "You'll _die_ father! I swear it!" he shouted.

"Clam down Syaoran! You'll never be able to hit him if you're like that!" Mr. Reed shouted.

Syaoran never listened though, as all angry people do, and just kept on hacking and slashing while his father avoided each attack with a creepy smile on his face.

"You better listen to what he says, Syaoran – though you hardly ever do." He said.

"Shut up!" Syaoran replied.

Then, I saw his right hand swiftly creating symbols. *A spell* I immediately thought, *Syaoran would never be able to notice that in his rage!* then I quickly returned the shot to its confinement and summoned the Shield card.

"Syaoran! Quick! He's casting a spell!" Tomoyo shouted.

"Shield! Release and Dispel!" I shouted, pointing my staff toward Syaoran.

"Too late!" Syaoran's father shouted, shoving forward his right hand and releasing the spell.

Eriol acted and ran towards Syaoran's father. "Earthquake!" he shouted, making the ground beneath Syaoran's father shake and disturbing his spell.

There was a massive amount of smoke so I couldn't see well until all subsided. And when everything did, I couldn't believe what I saw – Syaoran's father was staring at me, smirking and as for Syaoran, he was staring at the Shield which had just turned into stone.

"You have great eyes, princess." He said, "I never knew that my son was in such good hands."

Chills ran up and down my spine but I kept a firm look of defiance on my face. "I love him, and I'll never let you harm him!" I told him.

"Really? I wonder if he'll do the same?" he said, looking at Syaoran who was standing up and staring at him.

"Don't you dare harm her!" Syaoran shouted.

At that moment, I couldn't help but paste a look of horror on my face.

*Come and do that formation now!* Mr. Reed suddenly said in our heads.

Tomoyo and Eriol came running to my side and Syaoran teleported himself to our location. And then the Phoenix came and landed on Eriol's shoulder.

"Hmm… I wonder what will you do?" Syaoran's father said, "Protect her?"

"Let's do it…" Tomoyo whispered. And we all nodded.

They positioned themselves accordingly: Eriol to my back left, Tomoyo my back right, Syaoran to my front right, and the Phoenix hovering to my front left. I raised my staff and knocked the floor twice. Then below us, the sacred circle – which was the design on the back of all my cards – formed. I saw Syaoran's father moving towards us and I fought hard to keep my concentration on what we were doing.

Syaoran's father smirked and sped towards us. But then, he stopped. His limbs were suddenly held apart, like someone held on chains. He tried to break free but to no avail. Behind him, a simple pentagon glowed brightly.

"You forget us, young man." A voice, so loud and audible said. It was ringing with magic and power. It was my father.

"Don't treat us like that!" Mr. Reed said. I could almost feel his smile in his words.

I raised my staff again and a pillar of light enveloped us all.

"Spinel Sun!" Syaoran shouted, making the Black Panther with butterfly wigs appear.

"Yue!" Tomoyo shouted, summoning a tall man with long – I mean _long_ – silver hair and a pair of wings.

"Kerberos!" Syaoran shouted, calling fourth a large lion whose mane has been replaced by a jeweled collar and who had a pair of wings.

And beside me, the Phoenix flamed up and became a female figure – one known to me as Ruby Moon, Meiling's guardian.

All of the four guardians drew their strongest weapons and readied to fire and we did the same as well. Then I chanted, "Powers of the east, south, north and west…

Of wind, fire, water and earth.

Give us power, with the help of light,

Defeat the evil from the night!"

In one stroke, all our energies combined into one and struck its target. There was a blinding flash – and my eyes squinted reflexively – then followed immediately by darkness. Then I felt the Light return to its card form. I slumped on the floor in a tired heap.

"Sakura! Are you alright?" I heard Syaoran's voice.

Panting, I replied an audible "yes."

"I-I can't believe it!" I heard Eriol's voice.

I opened my eyes and it slowly started to adjust to the darkness. I looked to where Eriol was and on his face was a look of confusion. Beside him, Spinel had his back arced and his face hissing – the look of a cat in a defensive position… or in anger.

My night-vision returned and I followed Eriol's gaze. It was a hair-raising sight. Usually, other creatures that see in night mode see in shades of green – but mine was different, I could see in a gray to white scale and only differentiating the colors red and green. Now, imagine seeing like that, add a creepy guy who looks like a ghost in your sight – with blazing red eyes and a smile on his face. My blood almost drained out of me. "Y-your still alive!" I shouted.

"It seems that he is stronger than we thought." Yue said.

*It's my fault – I couldn't keep him contained – his powers have grown far greater than I remembered.* my father said, his voice in our heads once again.

"I grow old man, I don't stay the same." He said.

Then all of a sudden Ruby Moon spoke, "I cannot stay any longer." Then disappeared.

"No…" Tomoyo said, and then all the other guardians disappeared as well.

*I'll amend for that…* father said, "Echo of Magic!" he shouted.

A scream of pain was heard and I looked once again at Syaoran's father. He was on his knees, his image 'rippling' – as I'd like to call it. Wounds appeared from here and there. Some were small and superficial, while others were long and a bit deeper. None were life-threatening though.

Then is stopped. And though a bit wobbly, Syaoran's father stood up. And smiled.

"Still not enough… but what will you do now? Now that your light is gone?" he laughed and then disappeared.

"He's gone!" I shouted.

"No. He's still here." Syaoran told me.

Then, someone approached me and put a hand on my shoulder. "Rest a while, Sakura, you'll need your power for later." He said. It was Mr. Reed.

I nodded my head and he led me to where my father was. He was smiling, though his aura was a bit weak. "I see you're tire too, father." I said.

*Yes. I'm an old man.* he replied.

"Tomoyo, to your left!" Syaoran suddenly shouted.

"Ahead of ya!" she replied, avoiding Syaoran's father's attack.

"Not bad at reading auras, I see." He said, then headed towards Eriol, who sent a fury of sharp rocks jetting from below Syaoran's father – but he was too fast.

I closed my eyes. *It's hopeless* I thought.

…don't say that…

My eyes snapped open. And all I saw was pure whiteness. Then I saw her, my mother – so familiar and beautiful. "Mother…"

She smiled. "Don't loose hope, Sakura. You're a Seraph and that's what they always have – no matter how awful and despairing the situation is."

"But what can we do? He's invincible!" I said.

Mother approached me and held my face between her hands. "Tell me, who are you and what you are."

"I'm Sakura. A Seraph. My father is Fujitaka, who is a great magician and my mother is Nadesiko, a Seraph royalty." I smiled.

"What is our power?"

"Light."

"What does happen when light shines on a dark place?"

"It lights up." I answered, looking at my mother questioningly.

"And the shadows?" she asked.

"They disappear." At that moment, understanding crossed my mind and I smiled at her. "Thank you mother!" I said, embracing her.

She embraced me as well and said, "Go, open your true eyes and wake. It's about time you showed them who you are."

I woke up with a loud explosion ringing in my ears. When my eyes finally adjusted, I saw that everyone – even my father and Mr. Reed, who were a few steps away from me – were wounded and bleeding. I almost lost thought of what to do next.

Father looked at me, smiling. *Did you have a nice dream?* he asked, with a look on his face that told me he knew who I met in that dream.

"Yes." I replied.

"Hmm?" Syaoran's father said – just right beside me.

"Sakura!" Syaoran shouted – his voice so far away!

I could feel the warmness of his breath touching my skin. His face was right beside mine. "I see that sleeping beauty's awake."

I didn't speak. Just acted. I summoned my wand, its appearance pushing him away, then jumped – or rather _flew_ – aside. "It's about time I woke up too!" I said.

Mr. Reed and father jumped away as Syaoran's stood up. "Really? With that wound?"

"What..?" then I felt a sting to my side. I touched the spot and it felt wet… with blood. I slowly descended to the ground and Syaoran caught me before I reached it.

"Are you okay?" he asked worriedly.

"I-I'm fine." I broke free from him and smiled. "Let me do my job. It's just a sting!"

"Job?" both Syaoran and his father said at the same time.

I flew upwards and raised my staff as it glowed brighter and brighter. "Yes, my job of lighting up darkness and driving away shadows!"

…I am a Seraph, the pillar of light!...

…hear mine plea, o dear havens!...

…open thy gates and remove mine plight!…

…let thy golden rays fall, raining on the darkness…

From above me, a beam of light appeared, growing larger and larger. As I faced the sky, I felt the warmness of it, the glow, and the _goodness_ in it. And then in one blast, the light spread quickly like wildfire.

"Sakura!" I heard Syaoran, distress in his voice.

*I'm sorry, I can't stop now!* I thought.

…in places where shadows reign strong,…

…show them thy true power…

…teach mine friends thine hope's song…

…drive the shadows from their tower!...

There was the sound of fighting from below, a scream of frustration, worried shouts of warning… then I felt a sharp pain on my chest.

"…mine happiness is to see thy death, angel of light…" said a voice from behind. Then everything went blank…

Mother! ...she was flying towards me, her arms opened wide…

~*~

"Job?" I asked in unison with my father.

She flew away from me, saying that she'd do her job. But what was it? – I didn't know. But I just stayed where I was. No one was making every move anyway. I guess that everyone is feeling what my little angel would do.

"Yes, my job of lighting up darkness and driving away shadows!" she suddenly said, then began chanting in what I guessed as Seraph language. I didn't know what it was though.

Then I felt my father. He was moving again… he was raising his hand.

My concentration was disturbed when a beam of golden light fell from the ceiling of this infinity. And slowly, it grew larger until I was in it too. Then, it quickly spread all around us, lighting everything up. Then, sounds of fighting ringed. I looked around and saw shadowens filling the place. They attacked each of us in large groups. I was glad that Sakura was flying above.

But then, I felt my father's aura closing in on Sakura's. Looking up momentarily, I saw him flying towards her. "Sakura!" I shouted.

She didn't respond.

I couldn't shout any further as I was overwhelmed by my foes. I only kept track of them by their auras – even that I was loosing as well, since all my concentration went into fighting these damned things.

Then I felt father's aura right beside my Sakura.

I screamed in frustration and created a cyclone that blew away all my enemies. Tomoyo and the others were shouting warnings at Sakura and as I looked up, I saw father stab Sakura with his dark sword. Father removed the sword and a drop of blood fell on the bridge of my nose and rolled down my left cheek.

Feathers were falling from the sky and so was Sakura… I caught her before she fell on the ground and with my power, made myself stay up there at mid-air.

She was so cold…

…so pale…

…lifeless…

"**_Sakura!!!_**"

My vision started to flare white. "How dare you…" I said in an angry voice, "how dare you touch her!!"

"Not my fault but yours, you couldn't protect her."

I realized that I was standing again on the floor and I laid Sakura gently and saw how red her suit was getting. Then, her body glowed and disappeared. In her place, there floated a sword of the purest white I've ever seen. "Sakura…"

She was helping me, even after death. I knew this sword… this sword would kill him – the evil that was my father.

I immediately wasted no time into attacking him.

"Syaoran! Calm down!" Mr. Reed shouted.

But they couldn't understand the fury that was trapped in my body that was aching to be free. *Concentrate! You won't be able to hit him, just like before!* my mind shouted. I paused for a breath.

"Can't continue?" he mocked me.

I looked up at him and smirked. "Wrong." And then I hacked at him again, this time with a clearer purpose of defeating him than before. He blocked and parried with his dark sword but I kept on offensive, pushing him back. "I'll kill you father, if it's the last thing I do!" I shouted and at the same time slashing his side.

He backed a bit, holding his new wound. "Really?" he said, smiling at me. "Let's see you do it!" he dared, and immediately disappeared before me.

I silently cursed. I couldn't even feel him anymore.

…Behind me!...

"Too slow…" he said, and I felt his sword pierce my side.

The pain almost blinded me but I fought it. Then I pushed myself away before the sword could go any deeper and faced him. His face was a mask of surprise and I smiled. And in once quick attack, I pushed my sword into his heart, deeper and deeper.

He smiled. "Y-you know what I-I told her before s-she died?" he asked.

I stopped.

"Mei gaudium curo tui letum, lumen angelus."

I couldn't understand it but somehow, it was clear to me as common language spoken..

…mine happiness is to see thy death, angel of light… 

I twisted the sword to finally end his miserable life. I closed my eyes and pulled the sword away, the pain in the side becoming worse.

…will you be able to forgive me, Syaoran?...

A voice, vaguely familiar to me whispered. I opened my eyes and saw my father standing straight before me, hands opened wide in an embrace. His face was gentle and he had a sad smile on his face his long black hair was tied behind his back and he was wearing a white suit just like what Yue wore – that was the official dress code of royalty.

My own amber eyes were staring back at me.

Somehow, I found myself smiling at him and embracing him like a little child. "I'm glad you're back… father." He embraced me tightly and I felt his smile.

"Thank you… son."

I let go of him and clasped his right hand with mine at my chest level. We smiled at each other and then he disappeared in a flash of light.

I continued to smile as I felt happiness inside me, like a heavy burden taken off my back after many years of carrying it. And then, tired as I was, I felt numbness on my hands and I couldn't feel the sword anymore. I heard a clatter of a blade falling down and I felt myself fall before the numbness took over my body. Wanting to sleep, I closed me eyes…

_…is that you, Sakura?_

…

_…wake up, love,_

…

_Wake up…_

"What…?"

"Syaoran, love, wake up…morning's come!" a lovely and familiar voice said.

I opened my eyes and saw Sakura.

"Am I …am I in heaven?" I asked.

She smiled and giggled a little. "No, it is I who has come back." She says.

"Sakura?" I quickly rose from bed and just as quick, pain shot through my body.

"Easy now, it seems that you haven't fully recovered yet." She said, easing me to bed.

I just smiled, held her face between my hands and kissed her.

"Welcome back, my life, my heart, my love… welcome back…"

~*~

-The End-

~*~

Yatta! I've done it! …finally… I'm really sorry for the lateness of this chapter! I hope it's okay with you… anyway, here are some notes regarding this chap.

Note: Is Sakura really alive or Syaoran died? And, who said the last line, Sayoran or Sakura?

- Yep. She's back flesh and blood. Besides, no one can lie in heaven. As for the last part, I'll leave you to guess who did ^_^ (I think it's easy enough)

Note: Is that mambo-jumbo you made just really mambo-jumbo?

- Nope. It's not mambo-jumbo. It's Latin – a rough translation of the English version of what the guy said. And when I mean rough, I mean **_really rough _**(though that last part – the lumen angelus – is translated as light angel _and_ the is's there and all other conjunctions and stuff are not exact… ^_^;). don't know how to speak Latin okay?

Note: Anything else to say?

- Nope. That's it. If you have any other questions please e-mail me at neko_mancer@hotmail.com

And now, drum roll please…

*_drum roll*_

~Thank List!!!~

(In order of appearance)

  


Meruru ~ miss nioko ~ WOWEEE! I'M HYPER!!! ~ Sheryl V ~ chibiookamigirl ~ nightingale ~ Saki ~ hanako ~ Azure Rosas / Azure Rosas: Angel of the Moon (if they are really one person) ~ Xtreme Nuisance ~ arcticflames ~ crystal ~ Little Blossom ~ Trinity Matrix ~ Belle Rosa ~ Karen ~ masterofwords ~ Time Warp ~ kikie ~ VonDoom ~ ? ~ Lil DragonLex ~ Pru ~ Sakura Golden Wolf ~ sAkura^silver ~ Miyuki Angel ~ yami ~ seashell ~ Syaoran-and-Sakura ~ Silver-Cherry ~ KawaiiStarbright ~ Mitski ~ SilverDragon0207 ~ Angelic Firefly ~ Angel_of_Heaven ~ Live to love, and Love to live ~ KangaKilla ~ magicstardrops ~ cherryblossomsakura2111 ~ Tupper ~ mysticangel ~ mercurygirl ~ Princess Kidd ~ pinkuser ~ Ur13an +r1n1+Y ~ Nat ~ Neko-chan ~ bobette ~ someone ~ Cherry Wolf ~ Natty ~ Tenshi no Hikari (Sakura Golden Wolf's other name, yes?) ~ Slice ~ Surrealfilipina ~ panchan07 ~ ice-cold ~ littomiszy ~ anime_lover ~ Pink Cherry Blossom ~ Brianna ~ Kaylie-chan ~ Tempest Soulgale ~ ChIbI ChErRy ~ Lunar Star-Cycle ~ silver ~ amanda ~ Sage ~ safiro ~ Suki ~ Spera (Yo! cuz! how are ya??) ~ Sakura Sage (might be sage who just forgot the Sakura part – not sure) ~ SJ ~ chibidragon ~ Louella ~ Kathy ~ MimiGhost ~ The-Guardian ~ Fei ~ lozza-pilgrim ~ DragonGirl ~ Biriwilg ~ The Freaky Angel of Fire ~ to all others I might have skipped (because at some point, I got confused because there were soooo many!) ~ for readers who just read ~ to the band BREAD, for making all those great songs that I listened to while making this chapter (esp. Dismal Day) – hehehe… I'm just an oldie song liker ~ to everyone!!!!!!!!!

**Thank you all for giving me inspiration and all the whatnot (I just hate getting sentimental 'n' all, so I'll skip the drama).**

**~ Arigato Gozaimasu!!!!! ~**

**Jaa Ne!**

**~Yumemi~**


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